Australia Advances National End-of-Life Solar Panel Recycling! a2 Officially Announces Acquisition of Mengniu Yashili's New Zealand Factory

International News Guide:

Major Enterprise News - BASF Expands Distribution Agreement with Univar Solutions

Recycling News - NSW to Lead National Solar Panel Reuse and Recycling Scheme Automotive News - Great Wall Motor Launches First Brazilian Factory, Simultaneously Selecting Site for Second Plant

Packaging News - a2 Officially Announces Full Acquisition of Yashili's New Zealand Factory from Mengniu, Targeting the Chinese Market

Macro News - Indian PM Plans to Cut GST to Boost Consumption and Mitigate Tariff Impacts

Price Information - USD/CNY Central Parity Rate at 7.1322, Up 49 Pips

International News Details:

1. NSW to Lead National Solar Panel Reuse and Recycling Scheme

Commonwealth, state and territory governments have agreed to progress work towards a national product stewardship scheme for the reuse and recycling of end-of-life solar panels. Annual solar panel waste volumes in Australia are predicted to nearly double over the next five years, from 59,340 tonnes in 2025 to 91,165 tonnes in 2030. The surge in waste is expected to be greatest in metropolitan cities from domestic use, with volumes beginning to grow in regional areas from large-scale solar facilities after 2030.

2. APR Broadens Program to Recognize Sustainable Packaging Solutions

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) recently announced updates to the APR Design^® for Recyclability Recognition Program, adding new packaging components that are now eligible for Preferred Design Recognition (PDR) and a new tool to simplify the submission process. This essential program helps component and packaging manufacturers meet clients’ goals for recyclable packaging, providing third-party validation that a package or packaging component’s design is compatible with the North American recycling system.

3. Amcor Considers Selling North American Beverage Business

Amcor CEO and Director Peter Konieczny delivered a frank assessment of the company’s North American beverage business during the packaging giant’s earnings call on Aug. 14. “Look, I'm going to say very loud and clear. We're not happy with the performance of the North American beverage business in the fourth quarter,” said Konieczny. Given the poor performance, he added that Amcor is considering selling that part of its business. The company is also looking at shutting down sites that are not aligned with its core portfolio.

4. BASF Expands Distribution Agreement with Univar Solutions

Univar Solutions last week announced the company and its affiliate, Univar Solutions Canada, have been appointed exclusive distributors in the United States and Canada for select BASF specialty ingredients used in industrial applications.

5. Global Plastic Treaty Negotiations Collapse; Delegates from Multiple Countries Express Frustration!

International negotiations aimed at developing a landmark global treaty to address plastic pollution ended without agreement in Geneva, as countries failed to bridge deep divides over the scope of required actions.

Representatives from 185 countries met from August 5 to 14 in an attempt to reach an agreement. Prior to this, six rounds of intergovernmental negotiations (INC) over three years had failed to reach a consensus. Negotiations continued overnight after the Thursday deadline, but divisions remained: one side argued that the treaty should limit plastic production and phase out toxic chemicals, while oil-producing countries on the other side preferred to focus on end-of-pipe waste management, with the United States aligning with the latter. The collapse of global plastic treaty negotiations has left delegates from many countries frustrated.

6. a2 Officially Announces Full Acquisition of Yashili's New Zealand Factory from Mengniu, Targeting the RMB 100 Billion Chinese Market

Famous New Zealand dairy company a2 Milk Company announced today that it will acquire Yashili New Zealand Dairy Co., Ltd. for a total consideration of approximately NZD 282 million (equivalent to about RMB 1.2 billion). The seller is Yashili International Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Mengniu Dairy.

According to data, this factory is the first overseas factory operated by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yashili, and also the first milk powder factory built from scratch by a Chinese enterprise in New Zealand. If the transaction proceeds smoothly, it will mean that Mengniu will "bid farewell" to this overseas milk powder factory, while a2 will gain more coveted Chinese-label registered formulas through the acquisition.

In addition, FoodTalk learned from a document prepared by a2 for investors today that the transaction has been approved by New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office (OIO) and is expected to complete the closing on September 1. a2 will initiate the change application for its two existing Chinese-label registered products, which is expected to take up to 12 months; the registration of the third Chinese-label product is expected to take several years.

Overseas Macro Market Information:

[Indian PM Plans to Cut GST to Boost Consumption and Mitigate Tariff Impacts]

India expects that the GST reduction measures proposed by Prime Minister Modi will boost the economy without harming government finances. Indian officials said over the weekend that the proposed adjustments to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will reduce the number of tax slabs from four to two, benefiting a wide range of sectors including consumers and small businesses.

India's GST system is complex, with four main tax slabs: 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. The proposed reform will reduce the tax slabs to two, with most goods previously taxed at 12% and 28% now subject to the lower rates of 5% and 18% respectively. Modi announced the tax reform during his Independence Day speech last Friday.

Indian officials stated that approximately two-thirds of the government's GST revenue comes from the 18% slab, which will limit the fiscal impact of the tax system adjustment. Any revenue loss may also be offset by increased spending on essential goods such as food.

The tax reform proposal will be discussed by a panel of state finance ministers before being submitted to the GST Council led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in September or October. The changes will be implemented in the current fiscal year.

[Great Wall Motor Launches First Brazilian Factory, Simultaneously Selecting Site for Second Plant]

Great Wall Motor's strategic layout in Brazil is advancing at an accelerated pace. According to Bloomberg, on August 15 local time, Great Wall Motor's first complete vehicle factory in Iracemápolis, São Paulo State, Brazil, was officially put into operation. Notably, while the first factory is completed, Great Wall Motor has already begun selecting a site for its second factory, demonstrating its long-term development ambition in Brazil—the largest market in South America.

This factory was acquired by Great Wall Motor from Daimler Group four years ago and put into use after renovation and upgrading. With an annual production capacity of 50,000 units, it will initially produce three models: Haval H6, Haval H9 SUVs, and Fengjun P30 pickup trucks. Parker Shi, Chief Executive Officer of Great Wall Motor's International Business, stated that the company's long-term goal is to achieve annual sales of 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles in the Brazilian market, including locally produced and imported vehicles.

[Jackson Hole Economic Symposium: Wall Street Unanimously "Warns" of Powell's Key Remarks]

Given that a series of data will be released before the September meeting, Nomura expects Powell will not make a "clear commitment" on Friday. Bank of America even predicts that Powell will adopt a tough hawkish stance, contrary to the market's dovish expectations. Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, expects Powell to continue emphasizing inflation risks in his speech and resist market expectations of interest rate cuts.

[South Korean Media: Lee Jae-myung Plans to Send Special Envoy Delegation to China]

According to Yonhap News Agency, sources revealed on the 18th that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung plans to send a special envoy delegation to China around the 25th. The report stated that members of the delegation may include former National Assembly Speaker Park Byung-seok and Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Tae-nyeon. A Democratic Party official said, "The details have not been finalized yet, but to my knowledge, they are considering coordinating the departure date around the anniversary of the establishment of South Korea-China diplomatic relations (August 24)."

As of press time, no official South Korean response to the above news has been publicly seen. However, Yonhap News Agency mentioned that Lee Jae-myung's potential dispatch of a special envoy to China "reflects his commitment to handling South Korea-China relations."

Price Information:

[USD/CNY Central Parity Rate]

The central parity rate of USD/CNY was quoted at 7.1322, up 49 pips; the central parity rate of the previous trading day was 7.1371, the official closing price of the previous trading day was 7.1823, and the overnight closing price was 7.1831.

[Upstream Raw Materials USD Market Prices]

Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia $825/ton; CFR Southeast Asia $820/ton, down $10/ton.

Propylene Northeast Asia: FOB Korea average price $745/ton; CFR China average price $775/ton, down $5/ton.

North Asia frozen cargo CIF price: propane $523-527/ton; butane $513-517/ton.

South China frozen cargo CIF price for early September: propane $559-569/ton; butane $529-539/ton.

Taiwan region frozen cargo CIF price: propane $523-527/ton; butane $513-517/ton.

[LLDPE USD Market Prices]

Film: $860-910/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection molding: $950/ton (CFR Dongguan), up $10/ton.

[HDPE USD Market Prices]

Film: $900-955/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Blow molding: $855/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection molding: $890/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipe: $1,025/ton (CFR Huangpu).

[LDPE USD Market Prices]

Film: $1,100-1,110/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Coating: $1,280/ton (CFR Huangpu).

[PP USD Market Prices]

Homopolymer: $895-965/ton (CFR Huangpu), down $5/ton;

Copolymer: $910-965/ton (CFR Nansha);

Film grade: $1,030/ton (CFR Nansha);

Transparent: $975-1,055/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipe: $1,130/ton (CFR Shanghai).