【Global Highlights】Tise Stora Enso and Lanxess Announce Earnings; Tronox to Shut Down Plant! A U.S. Recycling Facility Goes Bankrupt

International Highlights Digest:

raw material newsTronox announces the closure of a 90,000-ton capacity titanium dioxide plant in the Netherlands

Automotive News HighlightsMagna collaborates with Nvidia to develop next-generation automotive intelligent technology

electronictop newsJapan launches new polyimide fiber that significantly reduces weight and enhances impact resistance

Packaging HighlightsStora Enso China's performance announcement, the Packaging Materials division's revenue reached 4.5 billion euros

Medical HighlightsAojing Medical's Important Breakthrough in Southeast Asian Market

macro newsVolkswagen plans to lay off tens of thousands, but the total number of employees after downsizing will still far exceed that of its main competitors.

priceinformationEthylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia 855 USD/ton; CFR Southeast Asia 920 USD/ton

The following are details of international news headlines: 

1、Stora Enso China performance announcement，Packaging materials division revenue reached4.5 billion euros

inIn 2024, the revenue of the Packaging Materials Division reached 4.502 billion euros, making it the largest division under Stora Enso. In terms of market position, its liquid packaging board ranks first in the global market, while its virgin cartonboard ranks first in the European market. Undoubtedly, its product innovation (such as renewable substrates and barrier coating technology) closely aligns with the global trend of carbon reduction, becoming a key pillar of the group's sustainability strategy.

2, Obtained EU81.6 million euros in funding, OMV launches chemical recycling plant expansion project

Recently, the Austrian petrochemical giant OMV has started operating its expanded ReOil pyrolysis plant (ReOil is the name of a proprietary technology and process developed by OMV for the chemical recycling of used plastics) located in Schwechat, Austria, which can process up to 16,000 tons of plastic waste per year. In 2021, OMV decided to build this expanded ReOil demonstration plant, originally planned to be operational in 2023. Since 2018, OMV has been operating a smaller-scale plant at its Schwechat refinery. From 2018 to November 2024, OMV achieved over 30,000 hours of cracking time at the Schwechat pilot plant, successfully processing more than 2.1 million kilograms of plastic waste.

3, German company Lanxess,2024 profit significantly increased

Lanxess release2024 fiscal year performance, sales of 6.366 billion euros, a decrease of 5% year-on-year, with an increase in sales volume, mainly due to a decline in raw material and energy costs leading to a decrease in selling prices. EBITDA before special items increased by 19.9% year-on-year, reaching 614 million euros, consistent with the preliminary figures released on January 20, 2025. The EBITDA margin before special items rose from 7.6% in the previous year to 9.6%.

4, the world's leading pigment manufacturer TronoxTronox announces the closure of a 90,000-ton capacity titanium dioxide plant in the Netherlands

TenoTronox, a global leading integrated manufacturer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) pigments, recently announced that after a strategic review of its asset footprint, Tronox has informed its Dutch employees that the company plans to close its 90,000-tonne-per-year titanium dioxide (TiO₂) plant in Botlek, Netherlands. The plant is currently shut down due to a failure by the plant's chlorine supplier on March 6, 2025, and it is expected not to resume production following consultations with the works council. Tronox expects this move will not impact its ability to supply products to customers, as the company will leverage its diversified production footprint to ensure uninterrupted supply. Approximately 240 permanent employees at the plant are affected.

5、US waste plastic chemical recycling company Brightmark's chemical recycling plant announces bankruptcy

American waste plastic chemical recycling companyBrightmark's first chemical recycling plant in Ashley, Indiana, has declared bankruptcy, but the company announced that this will not affect the employment of more than 90 factory workers and will not impact the normal operation of other chemical recycling businesses. It is reported that the pyrolysis plant sought funding from municipal bond investors six years ago, but due to design flaws and production stagnation, its capacity was extremely low (5%). Currently, the outstanding municipal debt has reached as high as $170 million (approximately 1.23 billion yuan), with total assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. The sale of the plant is expected to be completed by May 16.

6, Japan's SkyDrive company has received 373 pre-orders for "flying cars"

Japanese startup companySkyDrive Inc.'s "flying car" electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is receiving an increasing number of orders from overseas companies, with a total of 373 pre-orders as of the end of February. According to SkyDrive, headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, it received an order for 50 units from Indian private jet operator JetSetGo Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd. in January. They plan to establish a transportation service using the aircraft in Ahmedabad, a major city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. At the end of February, SkyDrive also received an order for 50 units from Dubai-based helicopter operator AeroGulf Services Co. These companies are considering using the aircraft for sightseeing flights around tourist attractions in Dubai.

7, Japan launches new polyimide fiber that significantly reduces weight and improves impact resistance

Recently, the headquarters located in Shiga Prefecture, JapanIndustrial Summit Technology (IST) has launched an advanced new type of polyimide fiber, Imidetex, aimed at redefining the applications of composite materials. With outstanding properties such as a high tensile strength of 3GPa, a continuous use temperature exceeding 250°C, and an ultra-low water absorption rate below 0.9%, Imidetex can bring a new dimension to composite materials, working in synergy with traditional glass fibers and carbon fibers to enhance the performance of composites.

8、Magna collaborates with Nvidia to develop next-generation automotive intelligent technology

Two companies join hands to work together, dedicated to advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS and autonomous driving systems provide AI-driven scalable solutions. Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna International is collaborating with technology developer NVIDIA to integrate the NVIDIA Drive AGX platform into Magna's next-generation advanced technology solutions.

9、Toy giant announces layoffs, foreign toy companies may trigger a wave of job cuts

Mattel announces layoffs, US layoffs120 people, including two vice presidents, multiple global big brand marketing directors and management, designers, engineers, and project managers, have also been affected. Following the closure of Dongguan Ledika, Foshan Sino-American Toy Factory, and the announcement of plans to move OEM factories to Southeast Asia, it is clear that Mattel China will not be left behind in the layoffs. In addition, Jazwares (Ji Shi), invested by Buffett, has laid off more staff, with dozens of employees from mainland and Hong Kong being let go. Colleagues reported there were no prior signs, and they were directly asked to process their departure, but all were compensated according to 2N times their salary.

10, Aojing Medical's Important Breakthrough in Southeast Asian Market

Recently, Allgen Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Allgen Medical) announced that its core productBonGold artificial bone repair material has received approval from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and officially entered the Vietnamese market. This approval is not only a significant breakthrough for OsteoMed in the Southeast Asian market but also lays the foundation for further promotion of its products in overseas markets. The company stated that it will actively promote and sell BonGold artificial bone repair material in Vietnam, while continuing to expand into other overseas markets to enhance the international influence of its products.

the following isOverseas macro market information:

Volkswagen plans to lay off tens of thousands but the total number of employees after downsizing will still far exceed that of the main competitors since last yearSince December, Volkswagen has announced plans to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany over five years, 1,900 at Porsche, 7,500 at Audi, and reduce the number of software business employees by about one-third. However, even if Volkswagen implements all these layoff plans, its total number of employees will still far exceed that of several major competitors.

Turkish stock market plummets continuously Turkish stock market plummets, leading to another trading halt. Turkish banking index falls9.3%, to the lowest level since November last year.

the following isprice information:

RMB to USD mid-price RMB to USD mid-price reported7.1760, down 6 points; previous trading day mid-price 7.1754, previous trading day official closing price 7.2383, last night's closing price 7.2495.

upstream raw material USD market price

ethylene Asia:CFR Northeast Asia 855 USD/ton; CFR Southeast Asia 920 USD/ton.

Propylene Northeast AsiaFOB Korea average price 810 USD/ton; CFR China average price 830 USD/ton.

North Asia frozen cargo CIF, propane599-601 USD/ton; butane 586-588 USD/ton.

South China frozen goodsApril CIF price, propane 601-603 USD/ton; butane 591-593 USD/ton.

Taiwan region frozen cargo CIF price, propane599-601 USD/ton; Butane 586-588 USD/ton.

【LLDPE US dollar market price

thin film960 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

injection molding1010 USD/ton (Dongguan Bonded Zone spot);

【HDPE US dollar market price

thin film935-950 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

hollow900-965 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu), down 5 USD/ton;

injection molding830 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu).

【LDPE US dollar market price

thin film1135-1155 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

coating1360 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu).

【PP USD market price

homopolymerization955-985 USD/ton (spot);

co-polymerization990-1060 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu spot)

membrane material1030-1105 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

transparent1020 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu spot)

Pipe material:1160 USD/ton (CFR Shanghai).

editor:Carrie