Thai petchems await China rebound
Diversified PTTGC is strong enough to wait for Chinese product demand but others may suffer
Better than expected Chinese industrial production in March raised hopes for a sharp recovery for downstream petrochemicals companies in the Asia Pacific region. But a Chinese recovery is far from assured and, if the Chinese economic recovery is sluggish, only the financially strongest product suppliers are likely to benefit. The Thai government made a strategic decision to develop its domestic petchem industries in response to the 1970s oil shocks. The result today is that larger players such as PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), a subsidiary of Thai NOC PTT, and SCH Chemicals, a unit of Siam Cement, have diversification and a strong parent on their side. SCH has stated that its plan to invest in
Also in this section
1 May 2025
The NOC’s dire financial situation and maturing fields has left the authorities with little choice but to reduce crude expectations
30 April 2025
With a new board appointed to lead NNPC and moves by President Tinubu to exert control in the Delta region, there is renewed hope the country will be able to turn the corner and rebuild production to former peaks
30 April 2025
While economic weakness and the electric vehicles trend have hit oil demand growth, petrochemicals and jet fuel show more nuanced changes across the barrel
30 April 2025
The company will use methane-rich gas produced from local coal to temporarily replace lost supplies from Mozambique
