$7.7 Billion Total Investment! 1.25 Million Tons/Year Polyethylene Project

  On June 9th, CICC Wealth Futures released a report indicating that the geopolitical fluctuations in crude oil have led to international crude oil prices leading the chemical sector, stimulating a halt and rebound in the styrene market as Israel and Gaza resumed mutual bombings, putting the fragile ceasefire at risk. However, on the other hand, the supply-demand balance of styrene itself shows a clear trend of tightness in the near term and looseness in the long term. In the short term, maintenance at Zhenhai Linde and Shenghong Petrochemical has caused the domestic styrene operating rate to remain at a yearly low of 64.1%. Yet, market attention has shifted to the resumption and increase in production expected in mid to late June, with a relatively clear expectation of loose supply in the long run. Downstream off-season negative factors continue to manifest, with operating rates for EPS, PS, and ABS at 44%, 49%, and 58.7% respectively; corporate orders are weak, finished product inventories remain high, and terminal demand shows no marginal improvement. Additionally, the narrowing styrene supply gap in Asia has significantly reduced domestic export orders, with export contract volumes halving from late May to June. In summary, the main contradiction in the styrene market will revolve around the interplay between raw material cost support and deteriorating fundamental expectations, limiting the rebound potential and making a smooth one-sided rally unlikely.

Recently, the Silleno polyethylene project in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, has successfully commenced construction. The project has a total investment of 7.7 billion USD, with a designed annual production capacity of 1.25 million tons of polyethylene, and is planned to be completed and put into operation by 2029. Once operational, the project will meet 90% of Kazakhstan's domestic polyethylene market demand, with products also being exported to markets in Europe, China, and other regions. This project is a landmark for the deepening pragmatic cooperation among China, Russia, and Kazakhstan in the high value-added petrochemical industry. The implementation and construction of this project further consolidates Second Chemical Engineering Construction Corporation’s overseas engineering achievements and adds another outstanding result to its overseas market layout.

Reported on June 8: PetroChina South China lowered its ABS prices by RMB 200/ton. Jieyang 0215A is listed at RMB 9,700/ton, 0215H at RMB 9,700/ton, 0215E at RMB 9,700/ton, HF681 at RMB 10,000/ton, and 2437 at RMB 9,300/ton. PetroChina’s Daqing Petrochemical ABS unit has a capacity of 300,000 tons/year, while the (Jilin Petrochemical) Jieyang ABS unit has a capacity of 600,000 tons/year.

Reported on June 8: Liaoning Jinfab’s ABS unit has a production capacity of 600,000 tons/year. Prices were lowered this week. The current offer for grade KF730 is RMB 12,300/ton delivered to the East China market and RMB 12,300/ton delivered to the South China market. Actual transactions are negotiable.

Xiangcai SecuritiesWith the explosive growth of the global humanoid robot industry, the screw rod market is entering a golden development period. The mass production of humanoid robots directly drives the demand for core transmission components. For example, according to reports from Zhijie Observation Station, a single humanoid robot requires 14 planetary roller screws (for linear joints) and 12 miniature ball screws (for dexterous hands). The value proportion of planetary roller screws is as high as 19%, making it the core component with the highest value in humanoid robots. Given the high technical barriers of manufacturing planetary roller screws and the clear incremental space brought by the explosion of the humanoid robot market, it is recommended to focus on screw rod manufacturers with positive research and development design capabilities, breakthroughs in internal thread precision grinding technology, and those that are deeply integrated into the humanoid robot industry chain.