Indonesia launches antidumping probe into PP homopolymer imports

Indonesia's antidumping committee, or Komite Anti Dumping Indonesia (KADI), has launched a preliminary investigation into the alleged dumping of polypropylene (PP) homopolymer products from Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, said Chemweek.

The move followed a request by PT Chandra Asri Pacific Tbk, a major domestic polyolefins producer with a nameplate capacity for 590,000 metric tons per year of PP. The investigation, confirmed by KADI to S&P Global Commodity Insights, focuses on imported PP goods classified under tariff code 3902.10.40.

"Based on KADI's analysis of the submitted application, there is initial evidence of dumping, losses to the Domestic Industry [IDN] producing similar goods, and a causal relationship between dumping and the losses experienced by IDN," an announcement from KADI dated Dec. 4 said.

According to KADI Chairman Danang Prasta Danial, there is a link between the alleged dumping practices and the losses incurred by local producers.

In line with the investigation, companies from the exporting countries are invited to submit a mini-questionnaire to clarify their positions. The deadline for responses is Dec. 17. Producers and exporters that are not named in the application are encouraged to engage with the investigation by contacting the Indonesian antidumping committee directly.

Trade sources said that Indonesian PP demand outpaces supply, raising questions about the feasibility of imposing import duties. “It is unclear whether antidumping duties will go through. There have been previous attempts to limit imports, but these have not come to fruition,” a regional trader said.

Lately, producers’ efforts to increase offer prices in Southeast Asia have faced significant pushback from buyers, including in Indonesia, driven by a stronger US dollar and sluggish demand for finished goods.

Several plant turnarounds in Southeast Asia are helping to ease the downward pressure on PP prices by reducing the region's ongoing supply overhang. However, additional supply from other Asian markets reportedly covered these temporary shortfalls, although high freight costs may limit arbitrage opportunities, according to sources.

In addition to its PP production, Chandra Asri has a nameplate capacity for 400,000 metric tons per year of linear low-density polyethylene and 336,000 metric tons per year of high-density polyethylene, as well as 900,000 metric tons per year of ethylene, 490,000 metric tons per year of propylene and 100,000 metric tons per year of butadiene, respectively. The company runs a naphtha cracker at Cilegon.

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PPG Industries said it has completed an on-site solar installation at its Caivano, Italy, facility that will enable progress toward the company’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, said Chemweek.

The project is part of a partnership with Grastim, a developer of energy generation solutions, the company said.

The 1.5 MW solar installation represents a CO2 emission reduction of approximately 390 metric tons (Mt) per year, PPG said. Combined with a previously installed combined heat and power (CHP) unit, the site is achieving an approximate 15% reduction in annual operating costs, it said.

The on-site solar installation complements the CHP unit, which was installed by Grastim in 2021, the company said. The unit captures waste heat created when generating electricity to produce steam and hot water for the site, resulting in an annual reduction of approximately 1,100 Mt of CO2 emissions, PPG said.

The Caivano facility manufactures electrocoat products for the industrial and automotive markets and decorative resins for PPG’s automotive and refinish plants and has a workforce of more than 120.

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Fertilizer producer Paradeep Phosphates Ltd. (Bengaluru, India) on Dec. 1 announced the shutdown of the ammonia and urea plants at Zuarinagar, Goa state, India, said Chemweek.

The company plans to replace the catalysts in the primary and secondary reformers, “as well as in the low temperature shift (LTS) converters.”

The company has not announced the resumption date.

According to Paradeep’s website, the company has 800,000 metric tons per year of capacity for diammonium phosphate and NPK fertilizers and operates a 400,000 metric tons per year urea plant in Goa.

Paradeep Phosphates is a joint venture of Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd. (Zuarinagar) and OCP Group SA (Casablanca, Morocco).

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China XLX Fertiliser Ltd.’s (Xinxiang) affiliate Xinjiang Xinlianxin Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. has completed the construction of a polyformaldehyde plant at Xinxiang, as per Chemweek.

The production capacity of the plant is 60,000 metric tons per year. The company said the plant has entered the trial production phase.

This project marks the group’s first initiative in new polymer chemical materials. “The resulting products meet quality standards and have fulfilled expectations in terms of technical performance and product reliability. Positive feedback has been received from customers during the trial phase,” it added.

China XLX Fertiliser Ltd. is one of China’s largest producers of coal-based urea. Its business divisions include the fertilizer segment, chemical segment, gas segment and medical intermediate.

The company reported revenue of 17.4 billion renminbi ($2.4 billion) for the first nine months of this year. Its profit rose by 80.7% year over year to 1.5 billion renminbi.

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Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (Allentown, Pennsylvania) said it has received notice that Mantle Ridge (New York), the activist investor pushing for changes at the company, will withdraw its nomination for five out of nine candidates for the Air Products board. Mantle Ridge has not yet filed a revised proxy solicitation, said Chemweek.

The announcement comes a day after Air Products released a letter to shareholders urging them to vote for the company’s own board candidates.

The remaining Mantle Ridge nominees are Paul Hilal, founder and CEO of Mantle Ridge; Dennis Reilley, former chairman and CEO of Praxair, who is Mantle Ridge’s choice for Air Product’s executive chairman; Tracy McKibben, founder and CEO of MAC Energy Group; and Andrew Evans, former CFO of Southern Company and former chairman and CEO of AGL Resources Inc.

“As has been our consistent practice in every project we have done, and has been evident from our filings and communications with the [Air Products’ board], we seek a restructuring of the board to one that can enable new executives to succeed and better board performance,” Mantle Ridge said in a statement today. “This necessarily includes a meaningful minority of ongoing incumbent directors and new independents that would comprise a majority of the reconstituted board.”

“In this case, we are nominating four, and [Air Products] is nominating two, entirely new and independent candidates (six directors out of nine would be new and independent),” it continued. David Khani, former EQT Corp. CFO; Tom Linebarger, former Cummins Inc. CEO; and Nichelle Maynard-Elliott, former Linde head of M&A, Americas and Asia Pacific, were three of the five candidates withdrawn.

In its letter to shareholders, Air Products had called Mantle Ridge’s proposal to replace all nine board members “nothing less than an attempt to unilaterally seize full control of Air Products without paying a control premium and with a level of representation that is entirely incongruent with its ownership stake.” Air Products argued that a wholesale change of the board was “unnecessary, destabilizing and would be harmful to shareholders.”

Air Products’ annual shareholder meeting will be held on Jan. 23, 2025.

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