[Overseas News] LyondellBasell Sees Narrowed Profit Margin in Q4! Asahi Kasei Launches Brand-new Low-friction Fluorine-free Polyamide Engineering Plastics

International News Highlights

Big Tech News - From profit to loss! LyondellBasell's profit margin narrowed in the fourth quarter.

Recycling News Nordic Recycling Technology Helps Singapore Build Efficient Plastic Bottle Recycling System

Packaging News - Kendon Packaging introduces coreless baking paper rolls to reduce waste.

Automotive News - Say Goodbye to PFAS! Asahi Kasei Launches New Low-Friction Fluorine-Free Polyamide Engineering Plastic

Macro News - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman: Details of negotiations with the United States are under review.

Price information The PBOC set the USD/CNY central rate at 6.9695.

International News Highlights:

1、Nordic Recycling Technology Helps Singapore Build Efficient Plastic Bottle Recycling System

Norwegian and Swedish recycling technology companies are set to play a key role in Singapore's new nationwide beverage container return scheme, which will officially launch on April 1st. The scheme is expected to handle over a billion beverage containers annually, providing a strong boost to Singapore's environmental efforts.

Singapore's newly launched beverage container return scheme introduces a refundable deposit of 10 Singapore cents for bottled and canned beverages (with a capacity range of 150ml to 3 liters). Once the system is operational, consumers can easily reclaim their deposit at approximately 1,000 return points across the island. This initiative aims to encourage public participation in beverage container recycling through economic incentives.

2、Ampacet Launches Bio-Based Black Masterbatch, Achieving Superior Jetness Performance

Ampacet introduces Natura Jet, an innovative black masterbatch made with naturally-sourced pigments, delivering unparalleled jetness to injection molded articles.

As a sustainable alternative to traditional petroleum-based carbon black, Natura Jet (Nature Pure Black) offers superior jetness compared to other bio-based counterparts and is compatible with various resins including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

3、From Profit to Loss! LyondellBasell's Fourth-Quarter Profit Margin Narrows

LyondellBasell reported on January 30th that its Q4 adjusted net loss was $79 million, a turnaround from a profit of $330 million sequentially and a decline from a profit of $255 million year-over-year, significantly below the consensus estimate of $63 million profit from S&P Capital IQ analysts. The company stated that most business segments experienced a sequential decline in profit margins due to rising natural gas liquids (NGLs) feedstock and natural gas costs, increased maintenance activities, and lower seasonal demand.

The company's Q4 sales totaled $7.091 billion, down 8% sequentially and 9% year-over-year; net loss was $140 million, a significant improvement from the $890 million loss in Q3 and also better than the $603 million loss in Q4 2024. The financial report confirmed items including asset impairment and base closure costs, totaling $53 million, lower than the $1.2 billion in Q3 and $1.1 billion in Q4 2024.

4、Goodbye PFAS! Asahi Kasei Launches New Low-Friction, Fluorine-Free Polyamide Engineering Plastic

As the EU and the US continue to tighten global regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), manufacturers across various industries are urgently seeking high-performance alternative materials to meet increasingly stringent environmental and safety standards while ensuring that the core technical performance of their products remains uncompromised. To meet this market demand, Asahi Kasei has developed a new PFAS-free polyamide (PA) engineering plastic, specifically designed for applications with stringent requirements for low friction performance.

For decades, the engineering plastics sector has relied on PFAS additives to achieve low friction and wear-resistant performance. Now, with increasing regulatory pressure, numerous industries, including automotive and industrial machinery, are seeking alternatives. Asahi Kasei's new PFAS-free polyamide addresses this industry shift precisely, combining environmental friendliness with the high-end material properties required for next-generation components.

5、Kendon Packaging offers coreless baking parchment rolls, committed to reducing waste.

Kendon Packaging launches coreless Multibake silicone non-stick baking paper to reduce packaging waste and optimize usage in high-volume baking and food service environments.

By eliminating the paper core, the company plans to reduce the amount of packaging material to be processed, while also simplifying the warehousing and roll changing processes for preparation and production. Multibake baking paper is known for its excellent non-stick properties, making it particularly suitable for products with sticky icing and high fat content.

Overseas Macro Market Information:

Overseas Macro Markets

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman: Details of negotiations with the United States are being reviewed. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Baghaei Regarding negotiations with the United States on the 2nd, it was stated that the overall situation and some details regarding advancing the resumption of the negotiation process are currently under review. It is hoped that more details can be clarified in the coming days.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: Iran has summoned all European ambassadors to Iran and issued a written protest. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson On the 2nd, in response to the EU's designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "terrorist organization," Iran, as a minimum measure, summoned all European ambassadors to Iran to lodge a formal protest in writing.

Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces: Regional war will engulf the US and its allies. Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri stated that the flames of war in the region will spread to the United States and its allies. He emphasized that Iran is not intimidated by the apparent hegemony of the enemies and is fully prepared for a comprehensive confrontation.

Rare earths involved, Japan claims "BREAKING: Kyodo News reported on February 2nd that Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced on X that the deep-sea drilling vessel "Chikyu," which is conducting a trial mining operation of sediment in the South Torishima sea area of the Pacific Ocean, has successfully extracted rare-earth-containing mud from a depth of 6,000 meters."

New Zealand Treasury: Inflation data does not suggest excessive stimulus. New Zealand Treasury has stated that price growth is to be expected as the economy recovers and demand rebounds. CPI results do not indicate excessive economic stimulus, especially with the labor market still exhibiting considerable slack. The Treasury projects that job growth will remain slow through 2026, even though the current unemployment rate of 5.3% "may be at the peak for this cycle."

Iranian Official Denies Plans for Live-Fire Drill in Strait of Hormuz According to CCTV News, recent reports indicate that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy of Iran will conduct live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. (Local time) On February 1st, an Iranian official stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had no plans to conduct related exercises. The official said that the IRGC had no plans to conduct exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, and no such statement had been issued by Iranian officials. Previous reports that Iran would conduct live-fire exercises there were "false."

Price information:

The PBOC set the USD/CNY central parity rate at ... 6. 9695, down 17 points; previous trading day's central parity rate was 6.9678, previous trading day's official closing price was 6.9486, and the previous day's night session closed at 6.9566.

Upstream raw material USD market price

CFR Northeast Asia ethylene $700/mt, CFR Southeast Asia $685/mt.

Northeast Asia propylene FOB Korea average price to USD 785/ton, CFR China average price to USD 835/ton.

CIF landed cost, propane, North Asia USD 577-579/tonne for propane; USD 597-599/tonne for butane.

Frozen goods from South China March landed price (CFR): Propane $613-623/ton; Butane $608-618/ton.

Taiwan region frozen goods CIF price, propane USD 577-579/ton for propane; USD 597-599/ton for butane.

【LLDPE US market price

Thin film USD 830/tonne (CFR Xiamen)

Injection molding $910/ton (CFR Xiamen)

【HDPE US dollar market price

Thin film USD 910/tonne (CFR Huangpu)

Injection molding USD 800/MT (CFR Huangpu)

Hollow $7850/ton (CFR Huangpu)

Pipe fittings USD 1000/ton (CFR Huangpu)

【LDPE US market price

Thin film USD 1025/ton (CFR Huangpu)

Coating USD 1240/tonne (CFR Huangpu)

【PP USD market price

Injection molding USD 840/ton (CFR Dongguan)

Copolymerization USD 870/tonne (CFR Nansha)

Membrane material USD 960/ton (CFR Huangpu)

Transparent. USD 1080/ton (CFR Huangpu)

Pipes USD 1130/tonne (CFR Shanghai)