Celanese raises LDPE and EVA prices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced that it will increase the price of all grades of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and Ateva vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) in September, reported the company on its site.

The increase of USD0.05/pound will be effective 1 September, 2014, or as contracts allow, and is caused by market conditions.

As MRC wrote beofre, in late July 2014, Celanese Corporation announced that it would raise prices of high-polymeric PE grades in Europe. Thus, the price increase of 20 cents per kilogram will be implemented for all GUR and GHR UHMW-PE grades sold in Europe, effective September 15, 2014, or as contracts allow.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kem One, Europe’s third-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has announced an increase of EUR20/tonne in July prices of suspension PVC (SPVC) grades and mass PVC (MPVC) grades, reported the company in its press release.

Kem One will maintain a strict price policy in order to recover the margins,deteriorated by the weakness of the market for caustic soda.

As MRC informed previously, the company raised its prices of SPVC and MPVC grades by EUR40/tonne in July in order to recover the margins, deteriorated by the weakness of the market for caustic soda.

Kem One, a fully integrated vinyl production company, was established mid-2012 following the acquisition of Arkema's vinyl products division by the Klesch Group. The company employs 2,600 people at 22 manufacturing sites, primarily in Europe but also in Asia and North America. Europe’s third-largest producer of PVC with revenues in excess of one billion euros, Kem One continues to grow and build on its numerous strengths with a view to becoming market leader for integrated vinyl solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican PVC and specialty chemicals maker Mexichem SAB de CV has agreed to buy German PVC paste producer Vestolit GmbH from investment company Strategic Value Partners LLC (SVP Global) for 219 million euros (USD293 million), said Plasticsnews.

Based in Marl, Germany, Vestolit makes the PVC paste for flooring, wallpaper and underbody protection for cars, according to a news release from SVP. Greenwich, Conn.-based SVP started looking for a buyer for Vestolit in mid July.

"This transaction represents an opportunity to expand our presence in Europe, enter new market segments and acquire new technology and best practices," Mexichem said in a statement, posted on the Mexican Stock Exchange, noting that Vestolit has sales representatives in 35-plus countries.

Vestolit claims to be the only producer of high impact suspension PVC (HIS-PVC) for weather-resistant and energy-efficient windows and also produces alkyl-chlorides, "a value-added intermediary, used for a variety of chemical and industrial applications."

Its total installed capacity is 415,000 tons per year and in 2013 it had a sales of 477 million euros ($638.4 million), SVP said.

"Under SVP Global's ownership, the profitability of Vestolit has grown and the business has made a number of advances, such as completing its transition to more environmentally friendly membrane electrolysis production techniques," SVP added.

Mexichem, of Tlalnepantla, an industrial municipality close to Mexico City, is Latin America’s largest manufacturer of PVC pipe, vinyl resins and compounds. Neither it nor SVP mentioned when they expected the deal to be completed.
New York investment banking firm Jefferies LLC advised SVP. JP Morgan Chase & Co was Mexichem’s adviser.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- European polypropylene (PP) producers have announced prices cuts of EUR20/tonne from July for August shipments to the CIS markets at , according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The August contract price for propylene in Europe was agreed by EUR20/tonne lower compared to July. Supply of PP has increased noticeably in the region by the end of the summer. As a consequence, European producers were forced to reduce PP prices by EUR20/tonne on the back of lower feedstock prices.

Deals for European homopolymers of propylene (homopolymer PP) were negotiated in the range of EUR1,230-1,280/tonne FCA this week. Offer prices of block copolymers (PP-impact) started from EUR1,300/tonne, FCA.

Some market participants said export quotas of European producers had grown substantially. At the same time, there was no a serious oversupply in the market.
MRC

МOSCOW (MRC) -- No Russian companies received loans in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs or euros last month, the first time this has happened in at least five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Global banks fell away in the second quarter, with lending plunging 42 percent from a year earlier to $4.7 billion as the Ukraine conflict worsened after President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March. That was the least for any quarter since 2012.

International lenders are weighing the political and financial consequences of doing business with Russian companies after the U.S. and European Union stepped up sanctions on the nation’s banking and energy industries because of the crisis in Ukraine. OAO VTB Bank’s plan to get a USD1.5 billion loan led by Barclays Plc will probably be scrapped, lawyers said last week. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Citigroup Inc. said Aug. 1 they’re scaling back their dealings with the country.

About USD28 billion was wiped from the value of the three Russian banks on the Micex stock index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. OAO Sberbank, the nation’s biggest lender, lost USD22.8 billion, the data show.

Russian companies paid an average interest margin of 287 basis points, or 2.87 percentage points, more than benchmark rates for internationally syndicated loans in the second quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 194 basis points in the same period a year earlier.

European banks may also steer clear of syndicated loans to the country to avoid potential penalties, even though such lending hasn’t been penalized.
MRC