Guinea Announces Phaseout Of Single-Use Plastics

On May 26, SK Chemicals announced that its copolyester ECOTRIA CLARO and PET series products under the SKYPET family have been recognized by the European recycling assessment organization RecyClass as recyclable within the PET recycling system. The seven certified products include five copolyester products from the ECOTRIA CLARO series and two general PET products from the SKYPET series. Among them, five products—ECOTRIA CLARO 100, ECOTRIA CLARO 200, ECOTRIA CLARO 300, ECOTRIA CLARO 100 CR50N, and ECOTRIA CLARO 200 CR50N—received the "Full Compatible" rating, meaning they can be recycled together without restrictions throughout the entire PET recycling process. The other two SKYPET products—SKYPET BR and SKYPET BR-V—received the "Limited Compatible" rating, indicating they can be recycled under specific process conditions.

The Japan Industrial Innovation Investment Corporation (JIC), a government-backed fund, is considering selling the chip materials manufacturer JSR. Two years ago, the corporation privatized JSR in a $6 billion deal. Regulated by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, JIC was established in 2018 with the aim of enhancing Japan’s competitiveness through corporate investments. According to insiders, Fujifilm and Mitsubishi Chemical have both expressed interest in acquiring the company. Massive investments in the artificial intelligence sector have driven up valuations in the chip supply chain industry. Originally, JIC hoped to use JSR to promote consolidation in the materials sector, but it is now considering taking advantage of the favorable market environment to sell the company. Founded in 1957, JSR is a leading manufacturer in the photoresist field, which is used to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers. In the fiscal year ending March this year, JSR posted a net profit of 60.7 billion yen and revenue of 400.7 billion yen.

Recently, Guinea announced that after the decree to be issued in 2024 takes effect, the production, import, sale, and use of single-use plastic packaging and products will be strictly prohibited in order to protect public health and the ecological environment. The Guinean government plans to gradually strengthen the control of plastic raw material imports and will completely stop the production and commercial circulation of related products by September 2026. At the same time, it will reduce the use of plastic bags in places such as pharmacies and supermarkets, enhance publicity and education, crack down on illegal plastic products, and promote the development of environmentally friendly alternatives.

On May 25, an investor askedCangzhou MingzhuI would like to ask about the Company’s order situation against the backdrop of the national “Six Networks” initiative: 1. Which specific areas of the “Six Networks” do the Company’s PE pipelines, lithium battery separators, and BOPA films correspond to, respectively? What is the current scale of orders and framework agreements on hand for each business segment, and how have they grown year-on-year? 2. Since the state-owned capital became the controlling shareholder, has this brought any new orders, new customers, or major cooperation opportunities related to “Six Networks” projects? 3. What is the situation this year regarding newly added orders and awarded projects for PE pipelines in municipal pipeline network and water conservancy projects, and for BOPA films in the logistics packaging sector? Regarding this,Cangzhou MingzhuOn May 28, in response on the investor interaction platform, it was stated that PE pipeline products are one of the company's main products, primarily used in the construction of underground networks such as gas and water supply. The introduction of this policy will have a positive impact on the company's pipeline product business. Currently, the production and sales of various products are operating normally. The company will actively explore domestic and international markets based on the sales targets set at the beginning of the year, fully strive to stabilize operations and increase efficiency, while closely monitoring industry policy trends and actively expanding market share.

On May 26, an investor asked:Zijiang EnterpriseQuestion: The impact of raw material price fluctuations and how to respond. Regarding this,Zijiang EnterpriseOn May 26, the company stated on the Investor Interactive Platform that the rise in chemical raw material prices has had a limited impact on the company. Its beverage OEM business is settled by charging processing fees and is therefore not affected by fluctuations in raw material prices. More than 60% of its PET bottle and preform business is toll processing, and for the remaining portion, the company is actively negotiating with customers to pass on, as much as possible, the pressure caused by rising raw material prices. Meanwhile, the company will mitigate the impact of raw material price increases through lean production and increased sales.