S. Korea planning anti-dumping duties on ethanolamine from four countries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- S. Korea's Trade Commission has recommended imposing anti-dumping duties on ethanolamine imports from the US, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, reported Apic-online with reference to Yonhap News.

The duties, ranging from 4.36% to 21.79% over the next three years, follow a 10-month investigation in which the commission interviewed suppliers from the four countries, as well as KPX Green Chemical, a local importer accused of dumping the product (PCN, 6 Jan 2014, p 3).

The recommendation will be submitted to Korea's fi-nance ministry with a final decision expected to made within 50 days.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, on 8 September 2014, China ended its anti-dumping duties on styrene-butadiene-rubber (SBR) imports from Russia, Japan, and South Korea. In 2009, China extended its 4-38% anti-dumping duties on SBR imported from the countries by five years. Since the tax expired, the ministry was reviewing whether to extend it. The ministry said the domestic industry urged it not to continue imposing the anti-dumping duty and, therefore, it decided not to continue it.

Besides, China's Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) will suspend anti-dumping duties on adipic acid (polyamide intermediate) from the European Union, the US and South Korea, if applications for expiry reviews are not received from domestic adipic acid producers. Applications must be received at least 60 days prior to the 2 Nov. 2014 expiration of the measures. The duties, ranging from 5% to 35.4%, were imposed in 2009.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Kem One takeover project provides for public funding from the State. In order to validate compliance of the funding with European regulations, the French State has notified this aid package to the European Commission, reported the company on its site.

In December 2013, the Commercial Court of Lyon officially approved the takeover of Kem One by French industrialist Alain de Krassny, with the support of investment firm Open Gate Capital.

The rescue plan validated by the Court is mainly financed by private sources, in the form of trade receivables and debt write-offs, in addition to significant internal measures to improve performance.

The rescue plan also provides for the following public support measures:

- A EUR30 million of Economic and Social Development Fund loan;
- A EUR15 million investment subsidy;
- And an EUR80 million repayable advance for the part-funding of the electrolysis conversion project at Lavera.

Kem One’s rescue plan also entails private financing resources, the renegotiation of raw material procurement contracts at the end of 2013, and the implementation of internal initiatives on the various sites.

Ever since Kem One’s takeover, discussions have been ongoing between the management of Kem One and the State agencies in order to prepare the notification of the various measures to the European Commission, and to ensure compliance of these measures with European regulations on State aid. Notification was sent to the Commission the 31 July 2014.

To date, payment of these financing measures has yet to take place. Nevertheless, these financing packages remain key to ensure the execution of the Lavera electrolysis conversion project as well as Kem One’s turnaround.

As MRC informed before, in June 2014, Kem One, Europe’s third-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), announced the launch of a significant investment on the industrial platform of Balan (Ain-France). This project, which is to replace the existing boilers, is a part of the Kem One Recovery Plan. Its commissioning is planned for September 2015.

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) -- BASF India Limited today inaugurated its large-scale chemical production complex at Dahej in Gujarat, India, said the producer in its press-release.

With a project cost of INR 1,000 crore (approximately EUR150 million), the site represents BASF’s single largest investment in India. The site was jointly inaugurated by Smt. Anandiben Patel, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat; Shri Saurabhbhai Patel, Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat and Mr. Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE.

The site includes an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and production facilities for care chemicals and polymer dispersions. The care chemicals facility at the Dahej site hosts the first BASF sulfation plant in India, which will cater to customers in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

The polymer dispersions plant will expand BASF’s production footprint in the dispersions business, complementing the Mangalore facility. It will serve paper and board, architectural coatings, construction, adhesives, and fiber bonding customers, located in northern and western India.

The integrated polyurethane manufacturing facility will host a MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) splitter for processing crude MDI, a core component in the manufacture of versatile polyurethane products. They are used extensively for cold as well as heat insulation applications and are the preferred material for improving safety in transportation, and enhancing energy efficiency and comfort at home.

The site will also produce Elastollan TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), Cellasto (microcellular polyurethane components) and Polyurethane Systems. The integrated hub will support the demand of industries in the appliances, footwear, automotive, construction, and furniture segment.

As MRC wrote before, India’s Essar Industries is in talks with Germany's BASF, the largest chemicals player in the world, for a petrochemicals joint venture. The diversification plan had been put on hold for long, because of global factors and the company's high debt burden. Essar's refinery currently has a 20 mln tpa capacity and is capable of refining a diverse range of crude.

BASF's portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) businesses of Rockwood Holdings, Inc., reported the company on its site.

Peter R. Huntsman, President and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, commented: "The successful completion of this acquisition better positions our company. It will be immediately accretive to our earnings before synergies of USD130 million and provides further optionality for our pigments business. The addition of specialty titanium dioxide and performance additives will broaden our product offering and further enable our ability to build the most competitive and successful pigments and additives business in the world. The majority of earnings over the past 12 months have come from their specialty and niche TiO2 businesses, demonstrating the diversity and breadth of the business we are acquiring".

Huntsman paid approximately USD1 billion in cash and assumed certain unfunded European pension liabilities.

As MRC wrote previously, in September 2014, Huntsman Corporation received final clearance and approval from the European Commission to acquire the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide businesses of Rockwood Holdings. The deal will make Huntsman the largest processor of sulfate ores, a key raw material which is also a cheaper alternative to chloride ores, and the number two player in titanium dioxide, behind DuPont.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2013 revenues of over USD11 billion. Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. The company's operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Distributing Sibur's PP and PE in select western European countries
German distributor frupack-plastic (Hamburg) recently reported that on 1 January 2014 it began distributing Sibur International’s (Vienna / Austria) PP and PE in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux states, said Plasteurope.

The Hamburg-based company said that as a fully integrated polyolefin producer, Sibur (Moscow / Russia) is increasingly becoming a competitive supplier in western Europe. The Russian group recently commissioned its new 500,000 t/y PP plant in Tobolsk in October 2013, which will further support its ambitious expansion plans.

As MRC wrote before, Sibur said that following the completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) contracts and assessment of the design documentation, it is proceeding with the previously announced mega ZapSibNeftekhim project at Tobolsk, Russia. ZapSibNeftekhim's project is designed to operate a steam cracker (by Linde AG, Germany) with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa of ethylene, around 500 ktpa of propylene and 100 ktpa of butane-butylene fraction (BBF), along with units with a total capacity to produce 1.5 mtpa of various grades of polyethylene (by INEOS, UK) and a polypropylene unit of 500 ktpa (by LyondellBasell, Netherlands).

Sibur is a vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company, which operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are the leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.
MRC