ENEOS Corporation (Representative Director and President: Takeshi Saito, “ENEOS”) and SK Innovation Co., Ltd (Vice Chairman & CEO: Kim Jun; “SK Innovation”), along with multiple subsidiaries of SK Innovation, announced today a conclusion of Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) designed to consider co
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at jinmyung.lee93@shinhan.com and cgh815@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. 2Q22 OP to exceed consensus at KRW1.55tr (+16% QoQ)S-Oil is expected to have delivered operating profit of KRW1.55tr (+16% QoQ) for 2Q22, beating the co
The Korea International Trade Association said in its report on June 8 that South Korean products’ share in the imported goods market of China fell from 9.9 percent to 8 percent from 2017 to 2021. “South Korea showed the highest rate of decrease among the top 10 countries in the market,” it explaine
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at jinmyung.lee93@shinhan.com and cgh815@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. 1Q22 OP forecast at KRW1.27tr (+224% QoQ) on oil refining boomS-Oil is projected to have recorded operating profit of KRW1.27tr (+224% QoQ) for 1Q22, be
Hanwha Total announced on Dec. 7 that it completed the expansion of facilities for production of ultra-high molecular polyethylene used as materials for battery separators at its Daesan plant in South Chungcheong Province, and has begun their commercial operation in earnest.With the expansion of the
The profitability of paraxylene (PX) significantly deteriorated last month, adding concerns to South Korean chemical companies. They are already undergoing demand-side difficulties in the wake of COVID-19 and the rapid decline in the sales margin of PX, their major export item, is compounding the ma
Lotte Chemical announced on April 21 that it will stop operating two metaxylene (MeX) production lines and one paraxylene (PX) production line at its Ulsan plant.MeX is a raw material for purified isophthalic acid (PIA) and PX is used for production of terephthalic acid, a raw material for PET bottl
Following SK Global Chemical, Lotte Chemical is also shutting down some of its plants in Ulsan due to a supply glut caused by Chinese companies.Lotte Chemical will suspend purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facilities in its Ulsan plant indefinitely. The company has also lowered the utilization rate o
The margins of petrochemical products such as ethylene have reached record lows and the industry is likely to have a hard time next year.The ethylene margin recently became negative with the prices of downstream products such as polyethylene remaining stagnant. Besides, the paraxylene margin has rem
Hanwha Total Petrochemical has wrapped up the construction of an ethylene production facility at its Daesan Plant in South Chungcheong Province.The company announced on Sept. 17 that the plant uses can produce 310,000 tons of ethylene and 130,000 tons of propylene annually. It has invested 540 billi
As the price of ethylene, which is called “the rice of the petrochemical industry” in South Korea, hit the 10-year low, the second quarter earnings of Lotte Chemical Corp. and LG Chem Ltd., the two largest chemical companies in the country, were directly hit. The two firms announced on Aug. 5 that t
Korea’s major industries are beleaguered. Externally, exports of semiconductors, displays, and petrochemicals, which are the backbones of the Korean economy, have been on the decline due to a drop in demand stemming from the U.S.-China trade dispute. Internally, labor unions’ hard lines and excessiv
The ongoing trade war between the United States and China is adversely affecting more and more South Korean industries, which are already suffering from a global economic downturn. South Korea is one of the countries most seriously hit by the trade war in that it relies heavily on exports to the two
Sluggish demand due to China's economic downturn and the U.S.-China trade war is cutting into the profitability of Korean oil refining and chemical industries.Industry sources forecast on May 26 that the operating profit of major oil refiners and chemical companies such as SK Innovation, LG Chem
Paraxylene (PX) is buttressing South Korean chemical companies facing difficulties amid the ongoing global economic recession and oil price fluctuations. Their PX exports are estimated to total an all-time high of US$7.8 billion this year.According to the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association, Ko
Paraxylene (PX), which has been a cash cow for Korean refiners so far this year, is expected to become an "ugly duckling" next year. Korean refining companies benefited from a rise in its price due to a supply shortage this year. But industry experts say that it will be difficult for Korean companie
The price of paraxylene, which is a raw material for PET bottles, jumped in the past one month with China banning the import of waste plastic. South Korean oil refining companies, which have continued to increase their paraxylene production capacity, are expected to benefit from the situation.Accord
South Korean refineries are increasing their crude oil imports from the United States. This trend is likely to accelerate as the price of crude oil from the United States is currently much lower than that of Middle Eastern crude oil.According to industry sources, the amount of the American crude oil
In the past, South Korean companies established local subsidiaries and conducted M&As in most cases to penetrate overseas markets. These days, however, an increasing number of them are opting for risk sharing with local joint venture partners for the same purpose.The number of such joint ventures is
It is expected that the Korea industry will be generally sunny but cloudy for some sectors in 2018, the Year of the 'Golden Dog' according to the Chinese Zodiac system.It is a dominant view among experts that the semiconductor industry which represents Korea will continue to enjoy a boom this year a