The EU has canceled the China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue! NEOS Phenol announces plans to close site in Germany, and Hasbro cuts 3% of total workforce amid higher tariff cos

International News Digest

Raw Materials News - Adnoc bids $18.7 billion to acquire Australian energy giant after acquiring Covestro

Packaging News - Danone Canada invests C$9 million in PET yogurt cup production, leading green revolution in dairy packaging with 30% recycled plastic

Automotive News - BMW develops natural fiber composites: performance comparable to carbon fiber, carbon emissions reduced by 40%

Macro News - Qatar sets the premium for June-loading Al-Shaheen crude oil contracts at the highest level in a year

Price Information - RMB/USD central parity rate reported at 7.1761, down 15 pips

Details of International News

EU unilaterally announces cancellation of high-level economic dialogue with China
The Financial Times reported on June 17, citing informed sources, that the EU has canceled important economic and trade talks with China ahead of the China-EU Leaders' Summit due to the lack of progress in multiple trade disputes. The newspaper stated that the China-EU economic and trade talks originally scheduled for July 24-25, which were to serve as the foundation for future dialogue between Beijing and Brussels, were called off. The cancellation may lower expectations for any concrete outcomes from the summit.

After acquiring Covestro, Adnoc bids $18.7 billion to acquire Australian energy giant Santos
Shortly after completing the acquisition of German chemical giant Covestro, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has taken action again. This time, it has set its sights on Santos, Australia's second-largest natural gas producer. Santos confirmed on June 17 that it has received an all-cash acquisition offer worth $18.7 billion (approximately A$27.4 billion) from an international consortium led by Adnoc, at A$8.89 per share, representing a 28% premium over the previous trading day's closing price. Including net debt, the transaction values Santos at A$36.4 billion, making it the largest all-cash corporate merger and acquisition (M&A) case in Australian history and the third-largest M&A deal overall. The acquisition is initiated by Adnoc through its investment arm XRG, in conjunction with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) and private equity giant Carlyle, aiming to expand its global natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) business footprint.

INEOS Phenol announces plans to close site in Germany INEOS Phenol, the world’s largest producer of phenol and acetone, announced today its intention to permanently stop production at their site in Gladbeck, Germany. High European energy costs alongside Europe’s punitive CO2 tax policy have combined to leave Europe uncompetitive against imported Chinese production and a global oversupply.

Monopoly maker Hasbro cuts 3% of total workforce amid higher tariff costs

Toy seller  has cut 3% of its global workforce in its latest cost-cutting effort amid higher U.S. tariffs on toys from China. The job cuts amount to about 150 employees. According to its fiscal 2024 annual filing, the company had roughly 4,985 employees globally.

VAUDE's new bicycle backpack uses BASF's innovative zero-carbon footprint polyamide material
VAUDE, a leading German brand in sustainable outdoor clothing and equipment, has partnered with BASF to launch the new TRAILCONTROL ZERO 20+ bicycle backpack, setting a new industry benchmark. The backpack uses BASF's innovative Ultramid® ZeroPCF material—a polyamide 6 (PA6) product with a zero carbon footprint.

Danone Canada invests C$9 million in PET yogurt cup production, leading green revolution in dairy packaging with 30% recycled PET
Danone Canada, a French food and beverage giant, announced an investment of C$9 million (approximately US$6.7 million) to upgrade its production base in Boucherville, Quebec, to launch a production line for independent cup yogurt packaging made from PET resin. This move aims to fulfill its sustainable development goals, planning to incorporate 30% recycled PET material (rPET) into the packaging, and has secured distribution support from supermarkets nationwide in Canada.

New guidelines published for best practices in chemical recycling / Framework spells out clarity and recommendations for companies
Brussels-based waste management group Chemical Recycling Europe (CRE) has announced the publication of a framework that it says will help a wide range of stakeholders assess the environmental performance of chemical recycling processes.

BMW develops natural fiber composites: performance comparable to carbon fiber, carbon emissions reduced by 40%
Technology media carscoops reported in a blog post today (June 18) that BMW has partnered with Swiss clean technology company Bcomp to develop new natural fiber composites using flax as raw material, with performance comparable to carbon fiber but 40% lower carbon emissions. Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M Division, pointed out that the material is key to lightweight innovation in racing and production vehicles and plans to include it as an optional configuration in future M series models.

Overseas Macro Market Information

• Qatar sets the premium for June-loading Al-Shaheen crude oil contracts at the highest level in a year
  Qatar set the premium for June-loading Al-Shaheen crude oil contracts at $2.48 per barrel, the highest level in a year.
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) survey: Most respondents expect further policy easing in July
  A survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) shows that most respondents expect further monetary policy easing at the July policy review. Economists forecast a 2025 growth rate of 1.7%, lower than the 2.6% in the first-quarter survey, with 2026 growth also expected to be 1.7%. The overall CPI inflation forecast for 2025 is 0.9%, lower than 1.7% in the first quarter, and 1.5% for 2026. The core inflation rate is expected to be 0.8% in 2025, lower than the first-quarter survey's 1.5%, and 1.5% in 2026. Economists expect the economy to grow 3.0% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025.
• Brent crude oil premium over Dubai crude hits a 2-year high
  Data shows that the premium of Brent crude oil over Dubai crude oil has reached the highest level since September 2023.
• Japan's exports to the US fell sharply year-on-year in May
  On June 18, Japan's Ministry of Finance released the latest trade statistics. According to the results, Japan's exports to the US fell 11.1% year-on-year in May, once again resulting in a large trade deficit. The report shows that due to reduced exports of automobiles, steel, and mineral fuels to the US, exports fell 1.7% year-on-year to ¥81.4 trillion in May; benefiting from lower energy prices, imports fell 7.7% year-on-year to ¥87.7 trillion. Japan's trade deficit in May was ¥63.76 billion, far higher than ¥11.58 billion in April. By country and region, Japan's exports to the US fell 11.1% year-on-year to ¥15.1 trillion in May, with automobile and auto parts exports down 24.7% and 19%, respectively. The 25% tariff imposed by the US on automotive products has had a huge impact on Japan's exports.

Price Information

• RMB/USD central parity rate
  The central parity rate of RMB against the US dollar was reported at 7.1761, down 15 pips; the previous trading day's central parity rate was 7.1746, the previous trading day's official closing price was 7.1838, and the overnight session closed at 7.1874.
• Raw materials prices in USD
• Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia at $810/ton, up $10/ton; CFR Southeast Asia at $850/ton.
• Propylene Northeast Asia: FOB South Korea average at $720/ton, up $10/ton; CFR China average at $760/ton.
• North Asia frozen cargo CIF price: Propane $577-579/ton; Butane $547-549/ton.
• South China frozen cargo July CIF price: Propane $598-608/ton; Butane $540-550/ton.
• Taiwan region frozen cargo CIF price: Propane $577-579/ton; Butane $547-549/ton.
• LLDPE prices in USD
• Film: $915/ton (CFR Huangpu);
• Injection molding: $960/ton (CFR Dongguan);
• HDPE prices in USD
• Film: $910-915/ton (CFR Huangpu);
• Hollow: $860/ton (CFR Huangpu);
• LDPE prices in USD
• Film: $1,035/ton (CFR Xiamen);
• PP prices in USD
• Homopolymer: $890-970/ton (CFR Huangpu), up $5/ton;
• Copolymer: $965-990/ton (CFR Huangpu); mixed trends
• Film grade: $1,025-1,090/ton (CFR Huangpu);
• Transparent: $1,065/ton (CFR Huangpu), down $20/ton;
• Pipe grade: $1,160/ton (CFR Shanghai).