Solara Active Pharma Sciences appoints new managing director/CEO

Solara Active Pharma Sciences Ltd. (Chennai, India) has appointed Sandeep Rao as its new managing director and CEO, effective Feb. 21, for a term of three years, as per Chemweek.

Rao replaces Poorvank Purohit, who resigned citing personal reasons.

In his recent role as CEO of Tenshi Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru) since July 2024, Rao drove the governance of business operations across the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) platform and other pharma assets.

Solara’s business units include API and contract research and manufacturing services.

mrchub.com

Last week, ethylene prices dropped in some parts of the Asian region while quoting stable in Southeast Asia, as per Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Asia requesting to remain unidentified informed a Polymerupdate team member, "The Asian ethylene markets have witnessed a significant drop in prices, influenced by a variety of interconnected factors, chiefly a decline in demand for derivatives.

The source added, Several buyers have opted to postpone their purchases until the following week. This choice is driven by ongoing uncertainty in the feedstock naphtha markets. Buyers are apprehensive about the possibility of further price declines or instability in the market, prompting them to take a cautious approach rather than making immediate commitments. In the past week, naphtha prices have consistently decreased, with no clear signs indicating that this downward trajectory will stabilize or reverse in the near term. Additionally, there has been a sharp reduction in ethylene offers over the last two days. In response to these circumstances, a decision has been made to defer any purchasing actions regarding cargo until next week, with the hope of capitalizing on potentially lower prices if the downward trend persists. Some producers continue to face pressure due to reduced operating rates, with many striving to maintain favourable margins against naphtha amid ongoing market weakness.

On Friday, FOB Korea ethylene prices were assessed at the USD 835-845/mt levels while FOB Japan ethylene prices were assessed at the USD 830-840/mt levels, both lower by USD (-25/mt) week on week.

CFR North East Asia ethylene prices on Friday were assessed at the USD 865-875/mt levels, a fall of USD (-30/mt) from the previous week. Meanwhile, CFR South East Asia ethylene prices were assessed flat at the USD 915-925/mt levels.

In Southeast Asia, the market conditions for downstream high-density polyethylene (HDPE) grades have posed significant challenges for purchasers. They are experiencing financial strain largely due to the low profit margins linked to HDPE. This scenario has resulted in a stagnant market, characterized by little fluctuation in both buying and selling prices. Buyers are reluctant to engage in substantial purchases or commitments because of the unfavourable margins, which has contributed to a decline in market activity. The short-term forecast for ethylene appears pessimistic, with numerous market participants indicating that discussions will continue to be influenced by weaknesses in upstream energy.

In plant news, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical has postponed the turnaround of its No. 2 cracker to Quarter 4 2025. The cracker was earlier scheduled to undergo a maintenance turnaround in March 2025. Located in Guangdong, China, the No. 2 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 640,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 330,000 mt/year.

In other plant news, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is likely to restart its No.1 cracker in April 2025. The cracker was shut for maintenance on October 1, 2024. Located in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, the No.1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 461,000 mt/year.

Lotte Chemical has undertaken an unplanned shutdown of its cracker and downstream plants due to a power disruption on February 25, 2025. Further details on the duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in Daesan, South Korea, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 1.1 million mt/year and propylene production capacity of 540,000 mt/year.

mrchub.com

On Thursday, ethylene prices quoted lower in Northeast Asia while remaining stable in Southeast Asia, as per Polymerupdate.

CFR North East Asia ethylene prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 885-895/mt levels, a fall of USD (-10/mt) from Wednesday. An industry source in Asia informed a Polymerupdate team member, 'Prices inched lower amid a bearish regional purchase pulse."

Meanwhile, CFR South East Asia ethylene prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 915-925/mt levels, day on day steady.

In plant news, Lotte Chemical has restarted its Polyethylene (PE) units in early March 2025. The unit was shut on February 25, 2025 owing to power failure. Located in Daesan, South Korea, the PE unit has a production capacity of 365,000 mt/year.

mrchub.com

Bromine- and lithium-based specialty chemicals producer Neogen Chemicals Ltd. (Thane, India) reported fire incident on March 5 at its multipurpose plant (MPP3) facility, tank farms and warehouse at Dahej, Gujarat state. No casualties were reported in the incident, as per Chemweek.

The company has recorded extensive damage to the warehouse and entire MPP3 structure, including plant, machinery and equipment.

The department of industrial safety and health has issued a stay order on operations at MPP3, the warehouse and tank farms.

It said the admin block, quality control, utility block, effluent treatment, interconnecting pipe-racks and some of the bulk storage facility needed to support the manufacturing infrastructure, were not affected by the fire. Also, MPP1 – Neogen Ionics facility for manufacturing electrolyte salt and electrolytes was not affected during the fire.

The company projects the reconstruction of the impacted facilities may take around 9-12 months to reinstate the plant and restart operations, for which planning work has already been initiated. It added the loss of assets and business interruption are both adequately covered by insurance, and the surveyor has commenced an assessment of the situation.

The company intends “to reinstate the capacity faster and increase capacity at other locations to minimize the impact,” it said. It intends to shift production of critical select specialty products to other sites based on approval from customers. This, combined with the planned expansion in Patancheru plant, “will help minimize the impact on earnings going ahead to minimize business disruption,” it added.

Based on the initial assessment, the company has revised its revenue guidance for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 to around 7.75 billion Indian rupees ($88.8 million) to 8.50 billion rupees, from a previous projection of 9.5 billion rupees to 10.0 billion rupees.

Neogen’s units include organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals and Grignard reagents.

mrchub.com

Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd. (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), an affiliate of Lotte Chemical Corp. (Seoul, South Korea), has received an offer from a securities company and five special-purpose corporations set up by five securities companies to acquire Lotte Chemical Corp.’s 25% stake in Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI) for 650 billion South Korean won ($449.4 million), as per Chemweek.

The identities of the buyers were not disclosed. Following the sale of shares, Lotte Chemical Corp.’s ownership in LCI will be reduced from 49% to 24%. Lotte Chemical intends to use funds to improve its financial structure by repaying debt.

LCI was established in 2016. It plans to start up a new naphtha cracker and related benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) plant at Cilegon, Indonesia, in May, a company source earlier told S&P Global Commodity Insights on Feb. 24.

The cracker will have capacity for 1 million metric tons per year of ethylene, 520,000 metric tons per year of propylene and 140,000 metric tons per year of butadiene.

“Benzene nameplate is 150,000 metric tons per year, toluene 50,000 metric tons per year and C8+ at 30,000 metric tons per year for [the BTX unit],” another company source earlier said to Commodity Insights.

The company has been selling its ownership in overseas subsidiaries to bolster its liquidity and plans to raise 1.4 trillion won.

Lotte Chemical last February sold its entire 75.01% stake in Lotte Chemical Pakistan Ltd. (LCPL) to AsiaPak Investments (Islamabad) and to Montage Oil (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), a commodity trading and logistics firm. LCPL has 500,000 metric tons per year of purified terephthalic acid capacity at Port Qasim.

In October of last year, Lotte Chemical signed a price-earning swap worth 660 billion won by selling its 40% stake in Lotte Chemical Louisiana LLC (LCLA). According to data from Commodity Insights, LCLA produces ethylene glycol with a capacity of 700,000 metric tons per year.

The company recently announced its decision to liquidate its joint venture Lotte Ube Synthetic Rubber Bhd. (LUSR; Pasir Gudang, Malaysia). LUSR was established in 2012 by Lotte Chemical and Ube Elastomer Co. as a 50/50 JV, and it produces polybutadiene rubber with a capacity of 72,000 metric tons per year.

Lotte Chemical last July announced plans to transform its portfolio by the end of the decade, de-emphasizing basic petrochemicals and increasing its focus on specialty chemicals.

mrchub.com