South Korea’s major refiner Hyundai Oilbank Co. and petrochemical firm Lotte Chemical Corp. have joined hands to build a heavy-feed petrochemical complex (HPC) at a combined investment of KRW 2.7 trillion (USD 2.5 billion).

The Ministry of Environment (MOE) announced at the Sejong Government Complex Thursday (10 May 2018) comprehensive countermeasures to more effectively tackle increasing plastic waste in the nation. The government plans to intervene in the production, distribution, collection and recycling process of products to reduce plastic waste.

Sri Lanka's Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake says that experts have projected the world's rubber demand to rise to 17 million tons per annum by 2025, and the Rubber Conference should focus on improving the rubber cultivation.

Fujian Gulei Petrochemical Co. (GLPC) has selected Badger Licensing LLC to supply its technologies for a new 600,000 t/y grassroots ethylbenzene/styrene monomer (EB/SM) plant, which will be built in Gulei Economic Development Zone, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, China.

BASF has opened a new lab and technical development center for its dispersions and resins business in Australia and New Zealand at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday (26 April 2018) it has decided to levy anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates for the next three years. In January, the country's trade commission recommended the government levy stiff duties on the product, citing substantial damage to the local industry.

In a second significant step toward the implementation of Saudi Aramco and SABIC’s fully-integrated crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex in Saudi Arabia, the two partners have awarded a contract to KBR, a leading global provider of project management, and professional & engineering services in the petrochemicals industry, for the COTC project management and front-end engineering and design (FEED).

Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Co. (DRPIC) has broken ground for its refinery and petrochemical project in the Duqm Special Economic Zone of Oman, according to local news reports.

South Korean chemical companies can be negatively affected by global oil majors’ entry into the chemical industry. As global oil majors enter the chemical industry one after another, South Korean companies are advised to shift the focus to higher value-added products to cope with the situation.

Despite low prices in both local and foreign markets, Myanmar’s rubber export will not decrease, according to Myanmar Rubber Growers and Producers Association.