MOL set to buy remaining TVK shares

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian oil and gas company MOL made a voluntary public tender offer on petrochemical works TVK yesterday, the company announced in a stock exchange filing yesterday.

It bid HUF 4,984 for each of the outstanding ordinary shares of TVK based in Tiszaujvaros in eastern Hungary.

TVK, suspended trading on Tuesday pending the announcement, and closed at HUF 5,086 on Monday on the Budapest Stock Exchange (BET). It ended last year at HUF 4,745. MOL already owns 94.86% of TVK's 23.04 million shares. The National Bank of Hungary in its capacity as financial supervisory authority has yet to approve the tender.

TVK, which is fully integrated into MOL's downstream operations, expects to launch a 130,000 tonne/year BD unit before the summer at its production site in Tiszaujvaros, northern Hungary.

Drawing on the plant’s output as feedstock, a 60,000 tonne/year S-SBR plant, being built at Tiszaujvaros by a joint venture between MOL and Japan-based JSR Corporation, is to be launched in 2017.

According to MRC, TVK is a significant player in market of polyolefins in Ukraine. Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK) is a Hungarian manufacturer of olefins and polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Feedstock is supplied by MOL of which TVK is a subsidiary and which also processes a major portion of resulting by-products from the olefins plant.

MOL previously said Hungarian authorities had dismissed the allegations against MOL, which now holds a 49.1% share of INA. Hungary's government holds a 24.6% stake in MOL.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has recently made a breakthrough in polyamide blown film processing with Akulon XS, reported company in its press release.

Thanks to its improved crystallization properties, Akulon XS has an extended processing window, providing new opportunities in designing co-extruded multi-layer as well as monolayer film structures.

DSM has announced plans to build a new plant for high viscosity Akulon polyamide 6 grades for film and other extrusion applications in North America.

DSM is developing thermoplastic composite gas tanks for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) with a partner, a specialist in advanced thermoplastic composite vessels for a wide range of applications. Together with hydrogen, natural gas is claiming its place in the field of cost-effective and low carbon footprint fuels for use in automobiles.

Besides, the company has recently unveiled the next generation of Diablo high temperature resistant grades in its Stanyl polyamide 46 and Akulon polyamide 6 portfolios. These new Diablo grades are aimed at applications in automotive engine compartments such as air intake manifold, ducts and charge air cooler combinations, where temperatures can reach as high as 260C.

As MRC informed previously, in November 2014, Royal DSM opened its new center for research into and development of high-performance materials on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
MRC

Last year price for Bisphenol A decreased by 24% (from USD1,610/tonne to USD1,235/tonne). Price for phenol dropped by 63% (from USD1,420/tonne to USD870/tonne). Price for acetone fell by 86% (from USD1,225/tonne to USD658/tonne). At the same time, the price for the polymer in Asia decreased only to the level that took place a year ago. In Asian ports PC shipped at USD2,500/tonne. However, now there is talks of further price cuts.

Despite this, the domestic price for Asian PC for Russian consumers has been increasing because of the devaluation of the rouble. So, at the beginning of last year the price for Asian PC was at Rb110,000/tonne. In January 2015 price offers for Asian PC were heard in the range of Rb200,000-210,000/tonne, depending on the current exchange rate.

The segment of the market continues to decline. A trader said almost half of his clients suspended operations. The market of finished products was not ready to accept such prices, which are dictated by the feedstock prices. Therefore, some converters have been switching to recycled PC. Consumers increased the service life of bottles.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical has brought light hydrocarbon unit No 8 in Freeport, Texas, back online, a company source said Wednesday, as per Plastemart.

The unit shut on December 14 when the trip of a cracked gas compressor was discovered during an attempted restart after a two-week turnaround. A restart was attempted again starting January 2, according to filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

As MRC wrote before, Dow Chemical began construction on 30, June 2014 its previously-announced world-scale ethylene production facility in Freeport, Texas. This represents a prominent milestone in the company delivering on its strategy to invest in a performance-based portfolio of technology-enabled businesses.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. The company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At this year’s Cosmetagora exhibition, BASF,e world's largest petrochemical major, showcases two new personal care solutions inspired by life: the anti-aging face care concept "Beautiful Faces" and "Color Trends 2016" - a trend-driven collection of effect pigments, as per the company's press release.

The formulations comprised in BASF’s new concept "Beautiful Faces" enable personal care solutions that meet the universal desire for significant anti-aging effects, while allowing manufacturers to target very specific consumer needs.

These were defined by means of a market research study and a validated typology system. Having a clear insight into consumers’ needs and anticipating future trends are crucial for creating successful personal care products.

To develop color care solutions that really resonate with consumers, BASF’s Personal Care business draws its inspiration for new products and concepts from real life and keeps a close eye on regional and global trends. Now, by analyzing cultural drivers in the global market place, BASF has identified the beauty trends that will become dominant in 2016: "Color Full", "Ancient Wisdom", "Woman of Power" and "Third Act". BASF is presenting its "Color Trends 2016" portfolio of effect pigments at this year’s show to help manufacturers leverage the market opportunities that are evolving with these upcoming trends.

As MRC reported earlier, last year, BASF developed new ingredients and innovative concepts for the personal care market. Driving forward the development of the brand Care CreationsTM, the company is taking a more and more science based approach to explore consumer needs: the focus is on a validated typology system with which users can define different consumer personalities.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC