SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Profits generated by Chinese industrial firms fell 5.5% on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. Factors for the contraction include a higher base in the same period last year as well as a rapid growth in financial expenses, said NBS statistician Yu Weining. Development in new […]

LONDON (ICIS)–Wacker Chemie is to cut more than 1,500 jobs worldwide as part of a €300 million per year cost-saving target, it said on Thursday. Most of the job cuts will be at the group’s sites in Germany as the company aims to make significant savings in production and administration. The project, which was launched […]

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Fitch Ratings has downgraded a portion of Mexican polyethylene (PE) producer Braskem Idesa’s debt obligations to the “restricted default” (RD) credit rating after the company was unable to pay interest on one of its bonds. The missed coupon payment was for a bond maturing in 2029 and was due last week. After a five-day grace […]

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The new biofuel mandate proposed by the US calls for larger amounts of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline and diesel, all while penalizing companies that import biofuels or the feedstock needed to make them domestically. The proposed mandate, called the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), will not just increase costs in the fuel market. […]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Evonik is ramping up plant and research investments in Asia to hit their growth targets, while mitigating direct shocks from US tariffs by targeting “local-from-local” production, according to Claus Rettig, President Asia Pacific at the German-based specialty chemicals firm. Evonik is undergoing a significant strategic transformation, aiming to increase its adjusted earnings before interest, […]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Thailand’s Constitutional Court has on Friday dismissed Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra after she was found guilty of ethics violations during a leaked call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The decision paves the way for the election of a new prime minister and ends the term of Paetongtarn after just one year, throwing Thailand into […]

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Join Emily Friedman, ICIS US recycled plastics senior editor in Episode 5 of Sustainably Speaking alongside Arianne Perez, Asia recycled plastic senior editor, and Joshua Dill, Americas recycled plastic analyst, as they discuss the implications of weak domestic recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) markets between the US and Asia. Even as local feedstock markets tumble, both regions are […]

LONDON (ICIS)–Covestro has completed the acquisition of Swiss multilayer adhesive films company Pontacol for an undisclosed sum as part of a strategic portfolio expansion, it said on Friday. The Germany-headquartered polymer materials producer said the deal would open up new growth opportunities, driven by increasing demand in future markets such as medical technology, mobility, and […]