Singapore-Vietnam joint venture plans second industrial park in Quang Ngai

VSIP, a joint venture between Singapore's Sembcorp and Vietnam's Becamex, is planning to develop its second industrial park in Quang Ngai province next year, said Theinvestor.

In a meeting with the central province's authorities this week, Kelvin Teo, CEO of the Singapore-based Sembcorp Development and co-chairman of VSIP Group, said they hoped to receive support from Quang Ngai for the new plan.

2023 will mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between Singapore and Vietnam and the 10th anniversary of the VSIP Quang Ngai, he noted. VSIP Quang Ngai 2 will have a green, clean and smart design and built to new standards, making it different from other facilities and fit the province’s development requirements, Teo said.

VSIP Quang Ngai 1 has so far attracted 31 investors, including 22 in manufacturing with 28,000 employees. Dang Van Minh, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said Quang Ngai was submitting to the government a proposal on planning amendments for the Dung Quat Economic Zone until 2035 with vision until 2050.

As soon as the proposal is approved, the province will assist VSIP in applying for an investment certificate for the VSIP 2 project, Minh said.VSIP currently runs 11 industrial parks across Vietnam covering 10,000 hectares. Together they have attracted USD17 billion from 860 investors from 30 nations and territories and employed 300,000 people.

Vietnam attracted USD31.15 billion of registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2021, up by 9.2% year-on-year. Singapore was the biggest investor with USD10.7 billion, up 19.1%. In the first eight months of this year, Quang Ngai attracted three FDI projects worth USD73.9 million, according to provincial data.

The central coastal province currently operates five seaports, including Dung Quat seaport with a capacity of handling ships of up to 100,000 deadweight tonnage. As an emerging industrial hub in Vietnam, it is well-known for Dung Quat Economic Zone and VSIP Quang Ngai.

VSIP Quang Ngai 1 focuses on food-beverage, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), assembly of electronic items, apparel, bags, footwear, weaving, among others. Major business lines in Dung Quat Economic Zone include oil refining, energy, metallurgy, shipbuilding, food, packaging, automobile component, and high-tech processing of farm produce.

We remind, Thai Oil PLC (TOP), Thailand’s largest oil refining company by capacity, will select Vietnam as one of three destinations for its investment expansion, along with Indonesia and India. TOP will invest in the fields of oil refinery, lube oil, and high-value petrochemical products, according to the newswire Bangkok Post. The total investment capital for these projects has yet to be disclosed. The expansion of its operations overseas is to meet the growing demand for energy and petrochemical products.

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Henkel & Co has raised its full-year sales guidance, citing strong performance in its adhesive technologies division, said the company.

In a statement, the chemicals and consumer goods company said it now expects organic sales to grow by 5.5% to 7.5% in 2022, up from the prior outlook of 4.5% to 6.5%.

Organic sales are also seen expanding by 10% to 12% at its adhesive technologies unit, which provides sealants and coatings to households and businesses.

Chief executive officer Carsten Knobel added that the group is working to pare down the impact of a recent spike in raw material, logistics, and energy costs on income.

Henkel left its expectation for adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin unchanged at 9% to 11%, adding that adjusted earnings per share will also fall between 35% and 15%.

We remind, Henkel Korea has completed work on its Songdo Plant, a production facility for electronics solutions in Korea. The project is expected to become the firm’s production hub in the Asia-Pacific region for high-impact electronics solutions.
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China’s Billion Industrial Holdings to build PET plant in Vietnam, said the company.

The Further Investment will include purchase of land of a gross floor area of approximately 200,000 square meters, purchase of equipment for manufacturing of polyester bottle chips, and construction of new factory with a total construction area of approximately 14,000 square meters with an expected annual production capacity of approximately 300,000 tons.

The Company expect that the new manufacturing facilities for the polyester bottle chips production business will be put into commercial production gradually from June 2023.

As of the date of this announcement, the Group has not entered into any legally binding agreement in relation to the Further Investment. The Company will make further announcement(s) and will comply with the applicable provisions under the Listing Rules in relation to the Further Investment if and when appropriate.

The Board considers that the development of a new polyester bottle chips production facility in Vietnam will benefit the Group and generate good financial returns, primarily because (i) Vietnam’s advantageous location in the region provides convenient conditions for procurement and transportation of raw and auxiliary materials; (ii) a huge market space exists in neighbouring markets; and (iii) the polyester bottle chips markets are expanding and the Group may capture the growing market demand through the Further Investment.

We remind, Koch Technology Solutions (KTS), a Koch Engineered Solutions company, and Ioniqa Technologies announced a partnership to scale up and commercialize Ioniqa’s advanced Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) recycle technology in the plastics industry. As part of this collaboration, KTS has committed to invest up to €30 MM in Ioniqa. Ioniqa has developed an innovative process that utilizes low-grade post-consumer PET to infinitely produce a feedstock that displaces virgin raw materials used in the production of polyester products.

Billion Industrial Holdings Limited is an investment holding company principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of polyester filament yarn products. The Company is also engaged in the manufacture and sale of polyester thin films products. Through its subsidiaries, the Company is engaged in the sales of raw materials.

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PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), the petrochemical arm of PETRONAS, and ExxonMobil have signed a memorandum of understanding to assess the potential for large-scale implementation of advanced plastic recycling technology to help create a circular economy for plastics in Malaysia, said the company.

The companies will also evaluate opportunities to support improvements to plastic waste collection and sorting in the country. Representing PCG at the signing was Ir. Mohd Yusri, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, and for ExxonMobil, Dave Andrew, Vice President of new market development.

"PCG has been continuously exploring and implementing innovative technologies to develop sustainable solutions demanded by its customers,” said Ir. Mohd Yusri. “This collaboration is yet another significant step towards the transition into a circular economy on the back of increased demand for circular products and signifies our commitment to use recycled raw materials in the chemical industry."

"Advanced recycling plays an important role in meeting the growing demand for circular products, while helping to address the challenge of plastic waste,” said Andrew. “Leveraging new technologies and the expertise of both of our organizations, we hope to accelerate a more circular economy for plastics in the region."

The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between ExxonMobil and PETRONAS that has seen multiple successful collaborations and business ventures in Malaysia and abroad.

PCG is committed to accelerating the region’s transition to a more circular economy for plastics. The company is currently conducting several feasibility studies on plastics recycling. In 2019, PCG signed an agreement with Plastic Energy to convert end-of-life plastics using a pyrolysis process, and the facility is on track to be operational by 2025. In addition, PCG is collaborating with waste management companies to unlock the value within the solid waste ecosystem in Malaysia. These collaborations will help to divert plastic waste from landfills and create an ecosystem that is conducive to the transition to a circular economy.

To enhance awareness of proper management of plastic waste in Malaysia, PCG also developed an education module titled “Plastic, Sustainability & You” that is distributed to schools nationwide. The module was developed in collaboration with The Ministry of Education, Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation and Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association. Using the content from this module, PCG conducted webinar sessions and has successfully reached more than 130,000 people in Malaysia.

ExxonMobil plans to build approximately 500,000 metric tons of advanced recycling capacity at its integrated manufacturing facilities around the world by year-end 2026. At its proprietary Exxtend technology at its advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, ExxonMobil has processed more than 5,000 metric tons of plastic waste since the facility started up in 2021, and is on track to complete large-scale expansion of the facility later this year. The company is assessing additional sites for advanced recycling in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Singapore, and collaborating with Plastic Energy to build an advanced recycling plant in France.

ExxonMobil is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, which is focused on accelerating investment in safe, scalable and economically viable solutions around the world to help address plastic waste in the environment. ExxonMobil also helped form the Houston Recycling Collaboration, which brings government, industry, and the community together to improve recycling rates, reduce landfill and transform waste into a valuable resource.

We remind, Malaysian state energy company Petronas reported a jump in second-quarter profit on higher oil and gas prices and said it would double its dividend to the government this year. The world's fourth-biggest LNG exporter reported a profit for the April-June period of 23 B ringgit (USD5.13 B), up from 9.6 B a year earlier. Revenue rose 63% to 93.3 B ringgit. Petronas will pay the government, its sole shareholder, a total of 50 B ringgit (USD11.16 B) in dividends this year, CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik told a media briefing.
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Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, today announces its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2040, setting near-and long-term company-wide emission reduction targets. The target commitments have been sent to SBTi for validation, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Through investment in renewable energy technology and changes to production processes, Topsoe aims to reduce operational emissions by 30% in 2024 and at least 95% in 2030, with a transition to 80% renewable power within all the Company’s operations by 2025.

This is the latest milestone in Topsoe’s transformational decarbonization strategy. By engaging with suppliers on their emission reduction progress and collaborating with customers and other business partners, Topsoe believes it can reach net zero a decade ahead of the Paris targets.

Kim Gron Knudsen, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, said: “Our vision is to become the global leader in carbon reduction technologies. Net-zero by 2050 as set out in the Paris Agreement can only be achieved through a joint effort between companies, countries, and citizens. But we need to focus on ourselves as much as on our customers. By moving first and demonstrating that an energy-intensive company such as Topsoe is ready to do what it takes to achieve these ambitious targets, we hope to inspire others in the industry to set bold targets to create a more sustainable future."

Roeland Baan, CEO of Topsoe, said: "Our commitment to reaching net zero in our entire value chain, builds on our aim to reduce our customers’ greenhouse gas emissions. We already deliver insights, technology, and solutions to the entire value chain for low-carbon emission fuels and chemicals, so?we are uniquely positioned to help our customers and society in this battle against climate change. Our customers expect us to take a lead – and we are doing so."

Earlier this year, Topsoe announced its ambitious target of reducing its customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by 12 million tonnes in 2022. Due to a significant interest in Topsoe’s decarbonization solutions the first half year of 2022, Topsoe has decided to increase its 2022 target to 16 million tonnes CO2e. Topsoe aims to achieve the target with its portfolio of renewable fuels and low carbon technologies for hard-to-abate industries, such as transport, chemicals, steel and cement.

Earlier this month, Topsoe announced Final Investment Decision on the construction of a 500 MW solid oxide electrolysis plant, which will be the world’s largest, in Herning, Denmark. The plant is expected to be operational in 2025.

As per MRC, Topsoe has made a final investment decision (FID) to build what will be “the world’s largest” solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOEC) electrolyzer plant. The plant at Herning in Denmark’s Jutland region will have an initial capacity of 500 MW per year, with an option to expand to 5 GW.

As per MRC, Topsoe’s technologies are set to reduce its customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by 12 MMt in 2022 alone. These reductions will not be one-offs but ongoing for the years to come. The key driver is Topsoe’s renewable fuels solutions, producing low-carbon fuels from waste and biomass.
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