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is a global distribution & trading company in plastic raw materials with offices and operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. The network structure enables each individual branch to operate in line with the latest short-term trends within world and regional markets. NCT's strategy is to generate added value to the chain between producers and end-users of commodity polymers. NCT is an ISO Certified Company who trades in polyolefins, polystyrene, pet, pvc and other plastic raw materials. source: Icis (2/12) Indias Reliance rolls over Rs63/kg list price for December PVC Chinese traders cut offers for LLDPE film imports by $10/tonne Chinas LDPE import prices fall 1% again on high inventories US November ethylene contracts heard rising 1 cent/lb US Sunoco to shut down main units at Marcus Hook refinery source: Chemorbis (2/12) Players in Chinas PE markets are evaluating the likely impact of the latest round of Western sanctions on Iran as they formulate their business plans going forward as per the plastics pricing service ChemOrbis. Most Chinese players predicted that the sanctions would not have a drastic effect on their business for the short term while adding that the sanctions may introduce significant changes into the structure of Chinas polymer trade going forward. For the first ten months of 2011, Iran has been the third largest exporter of HDPE to China, exporting a total of 336,303 tons or nearly 12% of Chinas total HDPE imports, according to data from Chinese Customs. Iran has been the largest LDPE exporter to China so far in 2011, exporting a total of 253,570 tons of material in the first ten months of the year. Iranian LDPE has accounted for around 21.3% of Chinas total LDPE imports this year and the country has exported nearly twice as much material as South Korea, the second largest LDPE exporter to China. Iran has been the seventh largest LLDPE exporter to China for the first ten months of the year, exporting a total of 73,025 tons, around 3.6% of Chinas total import volume. The newest round of sanctions has not yet had any major impact on our business in China, stated a trader dealing in Iranian cargoes. Exports from Iran to China are up around 15% over the past year and we may attempt to sell in larger volumes to China if the sanctions push Iranian material out of the European market, the trader commented. A source from a global producer operating a joint venture HDPE plant in Iran reported that, our sales are proceeding smoothly and we have not experienced any major difficulties from the sanctions yet. The produ*cer added that they do most of their business for Iranian materials with a select group of traders who place regular purchase orders. Issues arranging payment with Iranian companies have presented roadblocks to some Chinese buyers interested in purchasing Iranian cargoes. One trader commented, we cannot arrange payment to Iran now and we can only do business by routing payments to offices in Hong Kong and other locations outside Iran. We may have to reduce the amount of business we do with Iranian firms if stiffer sanctions are applied in the future, the trader added as per the plastics pricing service ChemOrbis. A converter stated that it is possible to purchase material directly from the China representative offices of Iranian firms, but added that, these firms generally want to be paid in cash or by T/T and we do not have sufficient cash reserves to do business on these terms. While Chinese firms generally say that they are still doing business as usual with Iranian companies, local representatives of international firms are taking a more cautious stance towards dealing with Iranian cargoes. A trading house based in South Korea commented, we have greatly reduced the amount of business we are doing with Iranian companies through our offices in China. source: Plastemart (2/12) Sasol Ltd plans to invest US$4.5 bln to build a plant usin low-cost natural gas to make ethylene and related chemicals in Louisiana. The board of directors has approved a feasibility study on a possible ethane cracker and ethylene derivatives complex in Lake Charles. The feasibility study is estimated to be completed by June 2013. The investment outlay is estimated at US$3.5-4.5 bln for ethylene capacity estimated between 1-1.4 mln tpa. The rapid development of the shale gas industry in North America and the resulting decoupling of the crude oil and natural gas prices have created several opportunities for growth for Sasol in both fuels and chemicals, the company said in a statement. In particular, the availability of significant volumes of natural gas liquids, and specifically ethane, has opened up opportunities in the ethane feedstock area for cracker-based chemicals. Sasol joins Dow Chemical Co., Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, among others, who are studying whether to build ethane crackers in the US. source: Plastemart (1/2) South African petrochemicals group Sasol has entered into talks to potentially divest its stake in Arya Sasol Polymers Company in Iran, a move already flagged in October, as per Reuters. Sasol has a 50% stake in Arya Sasol in joint venture with Pars Petrochemical Company of Iran. The venture produces ethylene and polyethylene. Sasol had said in a filing to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission last month that there was a possible risk that sanctions may be imposed on the company by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations as a result of its investments in Iran. This would stem from sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes but the United States and its allies fear is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. source: Chemorbis (1/2) Heading into December, new PVC offers and sell ideas started to emerge with increases in the local markets in Southeast Asia as per the plastics pricing service ChemOrbis. Regional producers either issued price hikes or expressed their hike targets for the new month giving the VCM shortage in the region as the main reason while relatively better demand provided some support for their targets. Most Southeast Asian PVC producers are known to be non-integrated and have to procure their VCM supply from other sources. Many regional PVC makers expect to see higher upstream costs in December mainly due to limited supplies stemming from the disruption at Tosohs complex. Earlier in November, Japanese Tosoh shut its 550,000 tons/year No. 2 VCM plant after an explosion and decided to shut its No. 3 plant with a capacity of 400,000 tons/year as a precaution. The companys No. 1 plant with 260,000 tons/year capacity was already down for maintenance since the middle of October. The company has not announced a planned restart date for its plants although it may reportedly take around six months for the company to resume normal operations at its 550,000 tons/year No 2 VCM plant, while damage to the companys 400,000 tons/year No 3 plant was thought be less severe. This week, an Indonesian PVC producer expressed their December sell idea with $50-70/ton increases compared to their November done deals after wrapping up their business for this month. The producer cited healthy demand in the local market as well as higher expected VMC costs in December as the main reasons behind their hikes. Another Indonesian producer reported concluding their November sales amidst satisfying demand. A Philippine PVC producer reported that they are planning to increase their offers for their December allocations because they have insufficient inventories as they are unable to procure feedstock from their parent company.In Malaysia, a producer increased their PVC offers by $63-79/ton citing their higher feedstock costs. The producer commented that demand is slightly better however buyers are quite shocked with the recent hikes. A converter in the country reported hearing that increases of $47/ton are aimed in the local market compared to last week but added that they havent received any December offers yet. A Thai producer stated that they are planning to increase their PVC prices by $32-64/ton for their December allocations amidst better demand. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese producer elected to maintain their local offers after issuing an increase last week. The sentiment in the local market has improved as buyers are concerned about possible increases although actual demand is not really picking up much nowadays, according to the producer. They are skeptical about the sustainability of the firming trend as demand is not very strong since buyers are not in need of material and sentiment is not so strong in China. We could achieve sales with our regular customers while we are currently focusing on our local sales considering the higher margins we obtain, the producer noted. NCT participated at Brasilplast NCT 25 years NCT & Itochu Corporation signs JV NCT Traders Meeting