Toray Develops High Antistatic ABS Resin! Fire at Plastic Recycling Plant in India's "Silicon Valley"

International News Highlights:

Recycling News - Major Fire Breaks Out at Plastic Recycling Plant in Hyderabad, India's "Silicon Valley"

Electronics News - Toray Develops High Antistatic ABS Resin with Surface Resistivity Reduced to 1/5 of Conventional Products

Packaging News - 27,000 Tons/Year! Faerch's Integrated Plant Boosts Pallet-Grade rPET Supply

Major Player News - Semiconductor Plastic to be Replaced! Materials Tech Giant Bets on Glass Substrates

Macro News - Former BOJ Board Member: Weak Yen May Prompt April Rate Hike

Price Information - Film: $780/ton (CFR Xiamen)

Below are the details of international news:

Toray Develops High Antistatic ABS Resin with Surface Resistivity Reduced to 1/5 of Conventional Products

Japanese materials supplier Toray Industries has successfully developed the highly antistatic Toyolacparel Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) resin. The new product features a surface resistivity as low as 10⁹ ohms/square, only one-fifth that of the company's traditional counterparts.

The Toyolacparel series achieves long-lasting antistatic performance by constructing a three-dimensional continuous network structure of antistatic polymers within the ABS base material. The low surface resistivity of this new composite material stems from Toray's molecular design improvements and precise micron-level control of the continuous network structure, leveraging its proprietary polymer alloy technology. This technological upgrade further expands the application potential of the high antistatic Toyolacparel series, meeting stricter antistatic requirements and adapting to a wider range of application scenarios.

Major Fire Breaks Out at Plastic Recycling Plant in Hyderabad, India's "Silicon Valley"

Plastmatch learned from a report in the Telangana Today on January 13, 2026, that a major fire broke out in the early hours of the morning at the Kattedan Industrial Area on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the capital of India's Telangana state. Located in central Deccan Plateau along the Musi River at an altitude of 542 meters, Hyderabad is India's fifth-largest city and a major technology hub, known as the "Silicon Valley of India."

The fire occurred in the Kattedan Industrial Area in the southwest suburbs of Hyderabad, which concentrates 35% of the state's plastic recycling capacity. Fire departments deployed 12 water tankers and ladder trucks to launch a three-dimensional firefighting operation, with special service teams entering the core area of the factory carrying thermal imaging cameras. Due to the large stockpile of polyethylene pellets and compressed plastic blocks in the plant, although the open flames have been suppressed, there is a risk of reignition. Currently, a "cooling first, then clearing" tactic is being adopted to proceed gradually.

27,000 Tons/Year! Faerch's Integrated Plant Boosts Pallet-Grade rPET Supply

Amidst significant market pressure and operational challenges facing many European recycling companies, Cirrec, Faerch's integrated recycling plant, continues to demonstrate stable operational performance and steady growth. Cirrec has increased the supply of internal pallet-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (pallet-grade rPET), supporting Faerch's vision of industrial-scale promotion of circular packaging solutions.

Currently, Cirrec's operations are progressing very smoothly, achieving full-capacity output of approximately 27,000 tons of pellets per year, all for internal use within the Faerch Group. This achievement ensures Faerch's stable access to high-quality recycled raw materials and further consolidates the company's industry position as a truly integrated recycling-manufacturing enterprise.

Semiconductor Plastic to be Replaced! Materials Tech Giant Bets on Glass Substrates

The root cause of SKC's crisis of consecutive losses for three years lies in the simultaneous pressure on its two pillar businesses. To address the crisis, SKC launched a "Rebalancing" strategy: starting from 2023, it accelerated the divestiture of non-core assets, including the sale of SK PUCORE (polyols) and SK Npulse wet chemicals division in 2023, the liquidation of SK Npulse CMP pad division and SK Nexilis FCCL division in 2024, and the further sale of SK Enpulse blank mask and CMP slurry divisions in 2025. Meanwhile, the originally planned entry into the anode material business was completely abandoned to focus on areas with proven competitive advantages.

The replacement of traditional plastic substrates with glass substrates is essentially an inevitable trend in the technological iteration of semiconductor materials. As generative AI models evolve toward trillion-parameter scales, computing infrastructure faces severe physical bottlenecks: traditional organic substrates are approaching their limits in terms of heat dissipation efficiency, large-size processing stability, and interconnect density.

This technological advantage stems from innovations in material properties. Traditional plastic substrates are centered on Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC), composed of epoxy resin, phenolic resin, silica powder, and additives. Their thermosetting nature leads to high dielectric loss and poor thermal expansion coefficient matching in high-frequency applications. In contrast, glass substrates directly break through these physical limits through breakthroughs in materials science, becoming a key path for advanced packaging technology.

Effective Immediately! Trump Imposes 25% Tariff on Any Country Doing Business with Iran

On the afternoon of January 12, 2026 (EST), U.S. President Trump posted on Truth Social stating that any country conducting business with Iran will face a 25% tariff on all their commercial activities with the United States. The order takes effect immediately. Trump called the order a final decision and binding.

Overseas Macro Market Information:

MFA: Will Take All Necessary Measures to Protect Safety of Chinese Citizens in Iran

In response to the U.S. State Department's demand on the 12th for U.S. citizens to leave Iran immediately, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated at a regular press conference on the 13th that China hopes for and supports Iran in maintaining national stability. We have always opposed interference in other countries' internal affairs and opposed the use or threat of force in international relations, and hope all parties will do more to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East. "We are closely monitoring the development of the situation in Iran and will take all necessary measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens," Mao Ning said.

Former BOJ Board Member: Weak Yen May Prompt April Rate Hike

A former Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member said the central bank may raise its benchmark interest rate as early as April as markets grow increasingly concerned that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "dangerous" fiscal policy approach will lead to a persistently weak yen. "The BOJ needs to raise interest rates by at least June or July," said former Policy Board member Shinji Sakurai. "But the move could happen in April."

Former U.S. Financial Officials Jointly Criticize Trump Administration for Launching Criminal Probe into Powell

More than a dozen former top U.S. financial officials issued a joint statement on the 12th criticizing the Trump administration for launching a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Signatories to the statement include several former Fed Chairs, former U.S. Treasury Secretaries, and former Chairmen of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Iran Says Internet Access Will Remain Restricted

Iran's Cyberspace Administration said on the 12th that internet access in Iran will remain restricted until national security conditions return to normal. The Cyberspace Administration stated that lifting the internet ban needs to consider the security situation. To facilitate people's lives, Iran will strengthen the construction of its domestic internet system.

SK Hynix Plans to Invest About $13 Billion in New Advanced Chip Packaging Plant

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix plans to invest 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) to build a new advanced chip packaging plant, launching a large-scale expansion to meet artificial intelligence demand. The statement said construction will begin in April, with the goal of completion by the end of 2027. SK Hynix is a leading global supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips and supplies Nvidia.

Price Information:

Upstream Raw Material USD Market Prices:

CFR Northeast Asia: $745/ton; CFR Southeast Asia: $725/ton.

Northeast Asia propylene FOB Korea average to $710/ton; CFR China average to $740/ton.

North Asia refrigerated cargo CIF: propane $547-549/ton; butane $607-609/ton.

China South China refrigerated cargo CIF for early February arrival: propane $595-605/ton; butane $590-600/ton.

Taiwan refrigerated cargo CIF: propane $547-549/ton; butane $607-609/ton.

LLDPE USD Market Prices:

Film: $780/ton (CFR Xiamen); Injection: $900/ton (CFR Yantian).

HDPE USD Market Prices:

Film: $890/ton (CFR Huangpu); Injection: $770/ton (CFR Huangpu); Blow molding: $795-820/ton (CFR Huangpu); Pipe: $1000/ton (CFR Huangpu).

LDPE USD Market Prices:

Film: $940/ton (CFR Huangpu); Coating: $1050-1180/ton (CFR Qingdao).

PP USD Market Prices:

Injection: $785/ton (CFR Dongguan); Copolymer: $820-850/ton (CFR Nansha); Film: $960/ton (CFR Huangpu); Transparent: $1000/ton (CFR Huangpu); Pipe: $1100/ton (CFR Shanghai).