Asian Markets

February 25, 2024

Yantai’s Push for Sustainability

Yantai ascends beyond trillion yuan milestone with eye on sustainable innovation

2024-02-26 08:26:59

In a landmark achievement for 2023, Yantai’s GDP soared to 1.02 trillion yuan (approximately $141.31 billion), making it the third city in Shandong and the 26th in China to surpass 1 trillion yuan.

The city’s ambitious strategy for acquiring projects has yielded remarkable results, with 485 projects signed into effect and 89 policies implemented in 2023, both record highs. These achievements have notably improved Yantai’s business environment, earning it a spot among the top 10 cities in China in terms of business climate.

Innovation is at the core of Yantai’s economic agenda, with significant investments made in critical sectors like aviation, nuclear power, and marine equipment.

The Yantai Chemical Industrial Park, nestled in the Huang-Bohai New Area, epitomizes the city’s ambition for upscale, sustainable production. The park has outlined an annual investment of 40 billion yuan across 40 city-level industrial projects, all of which have kicked off construction, with 11 billion yuan already invested, providing a strong foundation towards meeting this year’s objectives.

Home to global industrial giants, the park is poised to exceed 200 billion yuan in output within the next five years, highlighting Yantai’s dedication to green, low-carbon development and innovation.

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The Wanhua Chemical in Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area. [Photo by Guo Chuanyi for chinadaily.com.cn]

Yantai’s commitment to sustainability is further demonstrated by the Laishan floating photovoltaic power station, China’s first sea-based floating solar power facility. This groundbreaking project, developed by CIMC Raffles, marks a significant leap forward in clean energy, with the capacity to power numerous homes and underscoring Yantai’s leadership in renewable energy innovation.

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An aerial view of the “Genghai No 1” marine ranch complex located in the waters of the Laishan district. [Photo by Yu Fengyuan for chinadaily.com.cn]

In Longkou city, there has been a noticeable shift towards high-end manufacturing, as the traditional automotive industry transitions to new energy vehicles and other advanced sectors. The rapid growth of China’s automobile exports is evident in this area, with pure car and truck carriers manufactured at the CIMC Raffles Longkou base recently shipped from Longkou Port to Shenzhen via Yantai. They were carrying over 5,000 domestically produced new energy vehicles destined for Europe.

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The shipyard production line of CIMC Raffles is engaged in the manufacturing of pure car and truck carriers. [Photo by Xie Hongyu for chinadaily.com.cn]

Yantai’s industrial strength and innovative spirit position it for continued success, solidifying its status as a leading city both regionally and nationally.

With a vision set on becoming a central city in the Huang-Bohai region by 2035, Yantai is fast-tracking the development of a green, low-carbon, and high-quality development model city, marking a new chapter of ambitious goals and sustainable growth.

https://sdxw.iqilu.com/w/article/YS0yMS0xNTQwOTk4Mg.html

February 6, 2024

Wanhua 2023 Results

Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. Reports Earnings Results for the Full Year Ended December 31, 2023

February 02, 2024 at 04:51 pm IST

Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. reported earnings results for the full year ended December 31, 2023. For the full year, the company reported sales was CNY 17.54 million compared to CNY 16.56 million a year ago. Net income was CNY 1.68 million compared to CNY 1.62 million a year ago.

Basic earnings per share from continuing operations was CNY 5.36 compared to CNY 5.17 a year ago.

https://in.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/WANHUA-CHEMICAL-GROUP-CO–6496769/news/Wanhua-Chemical-Group-Co-Ltd-Reports-Earnings-Results-for-the-Full-Year-Ended-December-31-2023-45875045/

January 25, 2024

Chinese MDI Overview

China MDI Market Review 2023

PUdaily | Updated: January 19, 2024

China MDI Market Review 2023

In 2023, China MDI market experienced periods of downturn followed by rebound, with a narrowing price range. The yearly PMDI price was CNY 15,808/tonne, dropped by 8.3% year-on-year. The yearly MMDI price was CNY 19,991/tonne, dropped by 3.8% year-on-year. Despite both PMDI price and MMDI price dropped, the overall trend of “downturn followed by rebound” throughout the year reflects a gradual recovery in China MDI market.

In the first two months of 2023, MDI facilities in Ningbo and Chongqing underwent maintenance, leading to a significant decrease in operating rates. Suppliers either reduced supply or controlled deliveries. Additionally, due to the anticipated recovery of domestic demand from March, suppliers increased their guide prices and traders followed suit. From March to May, facilities undergoing maintenance gradually resumed production, but demand recovery fell short of expectations. Construction was under pressure due to the real estate downturn and macroeconomic factors. Major downstream sectors of MMDI such as spandex saw decreased operating rates, as did PU resin for shoe sole and PU resin for synthetic leather. The momentum for price increases in the MDI market weakened and experienced a pullback. From June to August, the news of maintenance from suppliers in Shanghai, Yantai, and Ruian drove a resurgence and stabilization in the MDI market. Meanwhile, the shipments of PU panels  increased compared to the previous months. Operating rates of TPU and spandex, downstream sectors of MMDI, saw increases, expanding demand for MDI. However, from October to December, as the off-season for downstream industries such as building insulation arrived, the MDI market once again weakened and moved at a low level.

China’s MDI Output Amounted to 4 Million Tonnes, Up 12% YoY; MDI Demand Totaled 3.15 Million Tonnes, Up 14% YoY.

In 2023, China’s MDI output amounted to around 4 million tonnes, increased by 12% year-on-year, with an average operating rate of 91%. Wanhua Chemical’s 400 ktpa MDI facility in Fujian, which commenced operations at the end of 2022, effectively utilized its capacity within the year. Meanwhile, China’s MDI demand showed a restorative growth. In 2023, MDI demand in China totaled around 3.15 million tonnes, representing a 14% year-on-year increase, significantly outpacing China’s GDP growth rate (5.2%). The downstream industries of PMDI that displayed significant growth included refrigerators, PU panels, and formaldehyde-free panels (woodbinder). In the downstream industries of MMDI, spandex and TPU showed demand growth rates higher than the overall level. In the automobile industry, the continual penetration of EVs, along with the increasing use of polyurethane in such vehicles as compared to traditional FVs, collectively drove the per-vehicle consumption of MDI and the overall MDI consumption in the industry.

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If you are interested in Global/Asia-Pacific/Chinese MDI markets, price forecasts, and other related information, you can subscribe to Asia-Pacific MDI Market Research Report 2023, published by PUdaily, via Tel: 86-21-61250980 and E-mail: marketing@pudaily.com.

https://www.pudaily.com/Home/NewsDetails/43991

December 26, 2023

Good Update on Chinese Furniture and Mattresses

Upholstered Furniture: The Leader in Polyether Polyols

PUdaily | Updated: December 19, 2023

Furniture industry status

China’s furniture industry has intensified competition and increased concentration: China’s furniture industry has developed into an important industry with mainly mechanized production, continuous improvement of technical content and continuous emergence of well-known brands. With the country’s attention to the quality of architectural decoration products and the rise of consumer brand awareness, China’s furniture market is gradually moving towards brand competition. By improving the technical level, strengthening quality management, and increasing investment in advertising and marketing, the brand advantages of leading enterprises in the furniture industry have gradually emerged, which has led to the continuous upgrading of the level of industrial competition, and promoted the development trend of the whole industry driven by brand enterprises and continuous innovation, thus improving the concentration of China’s furniture industry.

China’s furniture industry will develop in the direction of new retail, new marketing and new services: With the rise of a new generation of consumer groups, people’s lifestyle and life concept have undergone changes, furniture products have also put forward higher requirements, the choice of furniture products more pursuit of personalized and fashionable, the future of customized furniture personality, fashion, time saving, labor saving, will conquer more consumer groups. Furniture companies need to pay more attention to brand building and product design to meet the new needs of consumers for furniture products, and the furniture industry as a whole is developing in the direction of new retail, new marketing and new services.

Furniture industry anti-dumping policy impact

With the continuous development of global trade, trade barriers and tariffs between countries have become an important factor hindering the process of globalization. Among them, anti-dumping measures, as a means of trade protection, have been frequently used by many countries in recent years. As the world’s largest mattress producer, China’s mattress exports are also facing anti-dumping pressure from the United States.

Under the influence of the anti-dumping strategy of the United States for China’s mattress, China’s furniture enterprises have gone through two stages. The first phase is from 2018 to 2021, given that the United States has imposed tariffs of up to 25 percent on almost all household categories in China, of which mattresses are also subject to anti-dumping duties. During this period, China’s foreign trade household industry began to transfer to Southeast Asia, through Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries to export to Europe and the United States. The second stage is from 2021 to the present, and in April 2021, the US Department of Commerce officially announced the high anti-dumping tax rate against the seven countries. Chinese home furnishing enterprises have to adjust their strategy again, on the one hand, to dig deep into the domestic domestic market, on the other hand, to build factories in the United States and Europe. For the domestic domestic market, furniture companies will focus on expanding the sinking market. Sinking market is one of the biggest consumption growth points in China, with a huge market size and increasing purchasing power. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in China has increased year by year, with a year-on-year growth of 7.6% from January to September 2023, bringing more opportunities for “high-quality and low-cost” mattresses. For overseas demand, even in the face of Chinese workers to sea difficulties, high labor costs in the United States pain points, furniture companies still choose to build factories in Europe and the United States. In the case of Dream Lily, under the influence of anti-dumping policies, the company accelerated the production capacity of the factory in the eastern United States, and at the same time built a new factory in the western United States to meet the order demand of the American market. Pudaily believes that furniture companies with forward-looking layout of U.S. production capacity can better meet the local market demand, thus benefiting from this round of anti-dumping.

                       Us mattress dumping timeline

Targeted CountryTimelineContent
China2018/10/10In response to the application submitted by a number of mattress companies in the United States on September 18, the United States Department of Commerce announced the launch of an anti-dumping investigation on mattresses imported from China
China2019/10/18On October 18, 2019, the US Department of Commerce announced a final anti-dumping ruling on mattresses imported from China: ruled that the compulsory response enterprise Healthcare Co., Ltd. The dumping rate is 57.03%, the dumping rate of Jinorsi Light Industrial Products Co., LTD., JiNorsi (Xiamen) Light Industrial Products Co., LTD., JiNorsi (Zhangzhou) Light Industrial Products Co., Ltd. is 192.04%, the dumping rate of other exporters with separate tax rates is 162.76%, and the general dumping rate of China is 1731.75%.
China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam2021/4/21The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to make a final determination of anti-dumping industrial injury for Mattresses imported from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, and a final determination of anti-subsidy industrial injury for mattresses imported from China.
Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Myanmar, India, Italy, Kosovo2023/7/28The U.S. mattress industry and several trade associations filed anti-dumping duty complaints (AD) against mattresses from 13 countries and regions, including Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Taiwan, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Myanmar, India, Italy and Kosovo, as well as against mattresses from Indonesia. Filing a Countervailing Duty Complaint (CVD)

Demand for polyether polyols in furniture industry

Sofas and mattresses consume more polyether in upholstered furniture, accounting for more than 80% of the total consumption. Sofa fillings are basically polyurethane, a single sofa products, ordinary polyether accounted for about 45%-60%, 10kg sponge about x kg x kg polyether; The proportion of ordinary polyether in the thin mattress is about 50%-60%, and the 10kg sponge is about x kg-x kg of ordinary polyether. In the soft furniture industry, although the overall demand is limited under the influence of the real estate downturn, under the development trend of “everyone lives” and customized integration, the growth of leading enterprises and high-quality enterprises is significantly higher than the industry as a whole, which has led to the steady growth of polyether consumption in the soft furniture industry. According to estimates, in 2023, the polyether consumption of China’s upholstered furniture industry is about xx million tons, with a growth rate of about xx%.

If you are interested in the Chinese furniture market in 2023 and the consumption of polyether polyols,

Welcome to inquire and subscribe: PUdaily’s “2023 Asia-Pacific PPG Market Research Report”.

https://www.pudaily.com/Home/NewsDetails/43162

December 26, 2023

HPPO (Hippo) Process Hurdles

Net Profit for PO Produced in China Using HPPO Process Averages About CNY -275/tonne

PUdaily | Updated: December 21, 2023

Currently, hydrogen peroxide is an important raw material for producing propylene oxide (PO), and 27.5% hydrogen peroxide plays a dominant role in domestic market. In recent years, however, hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of over 50% has been increasingly used as it can help increase the productivity of PO facilities and improve product quality. In HPPO process, PO is manufactured through direct oxidation of propylene with hydrogen peroxide (mostly with a 50-70% concentration). Specifically, at low temperature and low pressure in a fixed bed reactor, selective oxidation reaction occurs between propylene and hydrogen peroxide in the mixture of methanol and water and in the presence of the titanium silicalite (TS-1) catalyst. Featuring short process, high atom utilization, low investment, mild reaction conditions, high energy efficiency, no pollution, high product yield and few by-products, HPPO is internationally recognized as a green production technology. 

Previously, the core technologies for HPPO process were monopolized by a handful of global chemical giants such as BASF, Dow Chemical, Evonik and Uhde. This provided a bargaining chip for them to ask high prices for technology transfer. Specifically, the fee for licensing PO manufacturing technology was tens of millions of euros, and additional fee was charged for hydrogen peroxide production technology, which was tied to the sale of the former technology. The result is meagre profit for PO produced using this process, averaging about CNY -275/tonne, according to Suntower.

Presently, Jilin Shenhua and Sinopec Changling Refining & Chemical are the two established PO manufacturers using HPPO process. In 2011, making an investment of CNY 2.5 billion, Jilin Shenhua brought in the HPPO process jointly developed by Degussa and Uhde to build a 300kt/a PO facility in Jilin province, the first and largest of its kind in China and coming online in July 2014. In 2013, Sinopec Changling Refining & Chemical invested approximately CNY 1.28 billion to build a 100kt/a industrial plant using its proprietary HPPO process. In July 2014, interim handover of the project was completed. And on December 6, trial run was successfully conducted, marking that Sinopec became the third company in the world owing patented HPPO process. In April 2023, Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical’s 300kt/a PO facility, with an ancillary 900kt/a hydrogen peroxide plant, successfully produced premium-grade propylene oxide. In May, Qixiang Tengda Chemical put into production its 300kt/a PO unit using HPPO technology jointly developed by Evonik and thyssenkrupp. In August, Taixing Yida Chemical’s HPPO-based 150kt/a PO project was completed. Suntower estimates that the current PO capacity using HPPO process stands at 1.55 million tonnes per year, accounting for about 45% of the total PO capacity.

If you are interested in the information about costs of different PO production processes and other relevant information, please contact us or subscribe to the 2023 Asia-Pacific PO Market Report.
 

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https://www.pudaily.com/Home/NewsDetails/43190