[Overseas Headlines] Celanese Joins Forces With Aisan Industry,Univar Expands Cooperation With BASF, Abog Pushes New Electric Motor

International News Highlights:

Raw Material News - Celanese Teams Up with E3 Industrial! Reshaping the Low-Carbon Competitive Landscape for POM, the Automotive Supply Chain Is Changing.

Automotive News: Nissan’s European plant to contract manufacture for Chery, completely upending the global automotive industry cooperation landscape.

Packaging News - Valmet’s 3D Fiber Technology Officially Launched! Cellulose Food Packaging Enters the Era of High-Capacity 3D Forming

Additive News - Univar Expands Partnership with BASF to Distribute Non-Phthalate Plasticizers in North America

Equipment Highlights - Arburg’s Brand-New TREND Electric Motor: AI-Powered Processing Unlocks Lights-Out Production

Macro Headlines - RBC: It will take months for shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to pre-war levels.

Here are the details of the international news:

Celanese joins hands with Aisan Industrial! Reshaping the low-carbon competitive landscape for POM, the automotive supply chain is undergoing a major shift.

Celanese, a global specialty materials company, recently announced a significant industry milestone: Aisan Industry’s Kentucky subsidiary in the United States has successfully used Celanese’s Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technology to produce polyoxymethylene (POM) materials, which are now being used for mass production of fuel pump modules for a well-known North American automobile manufacturer. Behind what appears to be an ordinary supply chain news story lies...Engineering plasticsA profound green transformation is sweeping the industry—carbon dioxide is shifting from an “environmental burden” to an “industrial raw material,” and polyoxymethylene, a key material hailed as “saigang,” is now writing a new industrial narrative.

2. Nissan’s European factories manufacture vehicles for Chery, marking a complete reversal in the global automotive industry’s cooperation landscape.

Recently, Nissan Motor announced on its official website that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of cooperation with Chery International UK. The two parties plan to use the No. 1 production line at the Sunderland plant in the UK to produce Chery passenger vehicles starting from the 2027 fiscal year. The ownership of the plant, production equipment, and the over 6,000 employees will all belong to Nissan, while Chery will only be responsible for vehicle development and building sales channels, without participating in the management of the plant's equity. This marks the first time that a major Japanese automaker has undertaken contract manufacturing orders for Chinese independent brands in a core area of Europe.

Valmet 3D fiber technology officially launched! Cellulose food packaging enters a high-capacity 3D forming era

Valmet officially launchedValmet 3D Fiber Technologyhelping customers produce lightweight three-dimensional food packaging products using cellulose fibers as raw materials.

The technology was developed in collaboration between Valmet and Metsä Spring. As a high-speed, high-capacity process, it enables the efficient recycling and utilization of process side streams and trim waste during production, with the potential to improve overall production efficiency and provide technical support for the circular economy.

Compared with the wet-molded fiber solution, this technology and its end products can help customers tap into a broader market space and can be used to produce fiber-based trays, dinner plates, and various types of food packaging.

Univar Expands Partnership with BASF to Distribute Non-Phthalate Plasticizers in North America

The precision injection molding industry is seeing a steady increase in orders, with hot demand in the automotive electronics, 3C, medical, and packaging sectors. However, many small and medium-sized injection molding factories are facing difficulties: the high cost of new machinery purchases, expensive factory renovation costs, and significant labor expenses for hiring skilled machine operators. Old equipment produces a high rate of defective products and serious material waste, making it challenging to plan for future developments.Blackout Intelligent ProductionHigh upfront investment has deterred many companies.

A major boon is here: ARBURG, the century-old German company, brings a breakthrough solution with its brand-new TREND electric machine series! Covering clamping forces from 50 to 200 tons, this lineup is precisely tailored to small- and medium-tonnage precision injection molding manufacturers. Starting this July, ARBURG’s Pinghu technical plant will begin assembling TREND injection molding machines for the Asian market, enabling faster response times and more competitive pricing, and helping factories cut costs and improve efficiency at an affordable price.

6. Stahls acquires Weilburger Graphics' Brazilian business to enhance its packaging coatings.

Stahl, one of the world’s leading companies in specialty coatings for flexible materials, has signed an agreement to acquire Weilburger Graphics’ printing coatings business in Brazil, further enhancing its packaging coatings portfolio and strengthening its regional service and supply capabilities in the food and consumer goods packaging sectors.

Overseas Macro Markets:

Report: Qatar plans to quickly restart LNG production after the Strait of Hormuz reopens.

According to informed sources, Qatar plans to rapidly increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with the goal of restoring most of its export capacity within two months. The sources said that QatarEnergy, which operates the country's LNG facilities, has informed buyers that production is expected to reach about 50% of capacity one month after the safe passage through the strait is restored, and to increase to about 80% of capacity within two months. They indicated that the remaining capacity, equivalent to two production lines, was damaged in the Iranian missile attack in March and will take several years to fully restore.

[Report: Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Heads to Moscow for Talks on Banking and Monetary Cooperation]

According to the semi-official Mehr News Agency, Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati led a delegation to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Russia on expanding banking and monetary cooperation. Hemmati will also discuss how to facilitate currency transactions, strengthen cooperation with the Central Bank of Russia, and establish new mechanisms to promote economic exchanges.

[The EU accuses “China of training Russian military personnel to fight in Ukraine”; the Foreign Ministry: This has no factual basis and is purely slander and smearing.]

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian presided over the regular press conference on June 16. At the conference, a reporter said that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas had stated that the EU had verified reports that “the Chinese military is training Russian military personnel to fight in Ukraine,” and asked whether the Foreign Ministry had any comment. Lin Jian said that such claims have no factual basis and are purely slanderous and defamatory.

[Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz are in the interests of all parties]

On June 16, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian presided over a regular press conference. A reporter asked about the first-phase memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the United States and the issue of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Lin Jian said that China has taken note of the first-phase memorandum of understanding reached by Iran and the United States, which includes the reopening of the strait. The Strait of Hormuz is a strait used for international navigation, and the early restoration of safe and free passage through it is in the interests of all parties. China is willing to maintain communication with relevant countries and the international community on this matter. China will continue to do its utmost to safeguard the safety of Chinese-funded vessels and Chinese crew members.

The G7 summit opens amid protests.

The G7 summit opened on the 15th in Évian-les-Bains, France, with protests continuing outside the venue. According to the agenda, the summit will last for three days and will focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the situation in the Middle East, economic balance, shared and sustainable growth, and...Artificial intelligenceDiscussions were held on these and other issues. In addition to the leaders of the Group of Seven, leaders from more than 10 countries and international organizations, including Brazil, South Korea, India, Kenya, Egypt and Ukraine, were also invited to attend.

RBC: Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will take months to return to pre-war levels.

RBC Capital Markets stated that it will take months for ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to near pre-war levels, especially if the security situation remains volatile. Until the bottleneck issue in the strait is resolved and Gulf countries can accelerate the recovery process and fully restore production, inventories will continue to carry the burden. The operational rights to the Strait of Hormuz will also be a key component of any reopening plan.

Price Information:

The RMB midpoint against the U.S. dollar was reported at 6.8108, down 20 pips; the previous trading day’s midpoint was 6.8088, the previous trading day’s official closing price was 6.7572, and the previous overnight session closed at 6.7568.

Upstream Raw Material USD Market Prices

On June 15, CFR Northeast Asia ethylene was steady at USD 920/ton, and CFR Southeast Asia was steady at USD 935/ton.

The average price of propylene in Northeast Asia FOB Korea fell by $5/ton to $1,075/ton, and the average price CFR China fell by $15/ton to $1,095/ton.

North Asia refrigerated cargo CIF: propane at USD 663–669/ton; butane at USD 713–719/ton.

South China refrigerated cargo CFR prices for early July: propane at USD 732-742/mt; butane at USD 792-802/mt.

The CIF price of frozen goods in Taiwan is propane at $663-669 per ton; butane at $713-719 per ton.

[LLDPE USD Market Price]

Film: USD 1,230/ton (CFR Huangpu);

[HDPE USD Market Price]

Thin film: USD 1,180/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Hollow: USD 1,300/ton (CFR Yantian);

Injection molding: USD 1,280/ton (CFR Yantian).

[LDPE US Dollar Market Price]

Film: USD 1,360/ton (CFR Huangpu);