Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) announced on Sept. 18 that it intends to set up a new facility for long glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) at a U.S. production base for...
Idemitsu Kosan
Idemitsu Kosan Takes Measures to Bolster Basic Chemicals Business
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) is taking measures to bolster its basic chemicals business, which focuses on petrochemicals. Having already worked to diversify raw materials at a base in Japan,...
Japanese Chemical Manufacturers Ride Wave of South Korea’s Electronics Boom
Business in South Korea is growing for Japanese manufacturers, coming in conjunction with the country’s expansion of LCD and OLED screens, semiconductors and smartphones as primary sectors. South Korea’s economic...
Idemitsu Kosan Plans Malaysian Production for Syndiotactic Polystyrene
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) is planning to expand its production operations for syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS). A base for this is set to be established in Malaysia, where member companies...
Mitsui Chemicals, Idemitsu Kosan Work Toward High-Purity Propylene Production
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) and Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) are gearing up to jointly construct a facility in Chiba Prefecture for getting high-purity product out of propylene. Prime Polymer...
Idemitsu, Showa Shell Agree to Merge Next Spring
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK (TYO:5002) announced on July 10 that they have agreed to merge their businesses in April 2019. The merger will be...
Major Japanese Oil Distributors Ride Margin Growth to Increased Revenues, Profits
JXTG Holdings Inc. (TYO:5020), Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) and Cosmo Energy Holdings Co. Ltd. (TYO:5021), three major Japanese oil distributors, have finalized their accounts for the fiscal year ending...
Idemitsu Kosan Targets Big Business With Oxide Semiconductor Materials for OLED Displays
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) has been at work on the development of oxide semiconductor materials with superior electron mobility, aiming to bring these to early commercialization in the display...
Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery to Start Shipments in April
The Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Vietnam is slated to begin shipping products and working on commercial operations this April. A joint venture between Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd....
Interview: Idemitsu Kosan President Takashi Tsukioka Talks Company Aims, Alliance With Showa Shell
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) saw an eventful year in 2017, experiencing both high earnings and new challenges as part of its recent operations merger with Showa Shell Sekiyu KK...
Prime Polymer to Construct New PP Facility in Chiba
Prime Polymer Co. Ltd., a joint venture funded by Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) at 65 percent and Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) at 35 percent, has solidified scrap-and-build construction plans...
Industry Outlook 2018: Petroleum Wholesales
The petroleum wholesalers industry stands to achieve record highs this fiscal year. This comes on the back of improved profitability, as the margin of difference between crude oil prices and...
Toray Plans to Strengthen Organic EL Materials, Other Growth Areas
Toray Industries Inc. (TYO:3402) is considering directing more resources toward organic EL materials and Ultrasuede, an artificial leather. Both are in full production. The company will make decisions on how...
Japan’s Best Path Forward to Survive the Global Chemical Industry’s Changing Tides – Part 8
The birth of DowDuPont Inc. raises questions as to what developments we can expect to see now in what is something of a final frontier in terms of company realignments...
IEEJ Reports Reveal Challenges Facing Petroleum Wholesalers
The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) has put together two reports on the prospects of Japan’s petroleum industry. The first of these is a comprehensive overview of the business...
New iPhone X Represents Growing Opportunity for Japanese Chemical Manufacturers
Apple Inc. has adopted in its new iPhone X an edge-to-edge OLED screen that covers the device’s entire surface. In addition to the U.S. company and its South Korean competitors,...
Idemitsu Gets out Ahead on Binary Cycle Geothermal Power
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) this past spring brought online the Takigami Binary Power Plant, one of the largest such power plants in Japan. Located in the town of Kokonoe,...
Trend Toward Paraxylene Facility Expansion Gains Momentum in Japan
Momentum is gaining in Japan on facility expansion by oil refining companies for paraxylene (PX) or for mixed xylene (MX) to be used as a direct raw material. While expectations...
Idemitsu Kosan, Showa Shell Enter Pre-Merger Crude Purchase and Shipping Tie-up
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK (TYO:5002) announced on May 9 that they have reached an agreement on collaboration in such areas as crude oil procurement,...
Industry Outlook 2017: Displays
The most closely followed area in the display market this year is likely to be organic electroluminescence (EL), which is expected to comprise half of small–mid-size smartphone displays as early...
