SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Malaysia’s Petrochemicals (Malaysia) will transfer its business operations – which includes its polystyrene (PS) business – to a new entity on 1 April, the company said on Friday. Petrochemicals (Malaysia), a subsidiary of Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan, operates a PS plant with a capacity of 110,000 tonnes/year at Pasir Gudang, while fellow Idemitsu subsidiary Idemitsu […]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Sika has agreed to buy Turkey-based adhesives manufacturer Akkim Sealants & Adhesives, the Swiss specialty and construction chemicals major said on Friday. Akkim operates two facilities in Turkey and Romania producing polyurethane (PU) foams, adhesives, sealants, coatings and other chemicals, with an additional site in Turkey in the works. The company generated net sales […]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–India’s annualized inflation rate stood at 2.75% in January 2026, as the country moved to a revised base year index of 2024. The inflation rate spiked primarily due to a massive surge in gold and silver jewelry prices. Food price inflation, which now accounts for about 36.8% of the consumer price index (CPI) basket, […]

LONDON (ICIS)–EU plans to expand gas-fired generation face long delays amid rising global turbine demand, particularly in the US, Hernan Arrigone, principal, energy infrastructure at global investment firm Actis told ICIS. European countries plan to add some 80GW of new gas-fired power by 2030, with 12GW alone receiving EU approval for Germany earlier in January. […]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)– Japan’s core inflation rate in Tokyo rose 2.8% year on year in November, holding steady after October and supporting a rate hike in the near future, official data showed on 28 November. Budget to tackle short-term inflation Factory output grows on robust automobile production Weakness in yen suggests rate hike to ease price […]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring will put downward pressure on economic growth in the short term, but will also allow companies to become more competitive via research and development (R&D) when global demand recovers, the Bank of Korea (BoK) said. Industrial production losses in 2026 up to won (W) 6.7 trillion, says BoK High reliance […]

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. […]