Amidst the dual trends of global energy structure transformation and the explosive growth of the cold chain logistics industry, the high-performance energy-saving materials sector is emerging as a new focal point for capital and industry. Recently, Shandong Hualan New Material Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shandong Hualan"), an innovative practitioner in China's polyurethane insulation materials field, announced the successful completion of its 20 million RMB angel round financing.This round of financing signifies that the company's overall strength and development prospects have gained recognition from professional investment institutions, injecting strong momentum into accelerating the company's industrial layout and deepening its technological moat.

Recently, the FDPE unit constructed by the Nantong Blue Island New Materials Full-Density Polyethylene Project Department of the Fifth Branch reached a critical milestone: the successful hoisting and positioning of the light-end stripper (3200-C-3201). As the first of the unit's six columns to be installed, the success of this "first lift" establishes a solid foundation for the subsequent centralized hoisting of similar equipment. It also marks the full-scale commencement of the installation phase for large-scale columns within the unit, representing a significant milestone in the overall progress of the project schedule.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group, Asahi Kasei Corporation, and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. announced plans to establish a new joint operating entity to manage two ethylene production facilities in western Japan. As part of a comprehensive operational reform, the companies will shut down the Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi Chemical ethylene cracker in Mizushima and integrate the cracker operated by Osaka Petrochemical Industries Ltd. in Takaishi, targeting completion by the end of fiscal year 2031, or March 2032.

People's Finance News, January 28 — According to data from Qichacha, Huizhou Julong New Material Technology Co., Ltd. was recently established with a registered capital of 30 million RMB. Its business scope includes the manufacture of additive manufacturing equipment, sales of civil aviation materials, and processing of mechanical parts and components. Equity structure data from Qichacha shows that the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nanjing Julong (300644).

The overall supply pressure remains relatively high. However, domestically, only Zhejiang Jiahe has a planned new capacity of 300,000 tons in 2026, and overseas, the planned UAE project has been postponed, indicating that the supply expansion is nearing its end. On the demand side, the operating rate of finished product manufacturers is weakly stable, and the terminal demand is in the off-season, with construction sites in the north suspending work and order intake being poor. In terms of inventory, social warehouses are accumulating inventory, while factory warehouses are destocking, and the registered warehouse receipt volume remains at a high level. Regarding costs, the price of calcium carbide has rebounded slightly, with the calcium carbide method experiencing increased losses and the ethylene method experiencing reduced losses, while the chlor-alkali profit remains at a low level. From a policy perspective, the VAT export rebate for PVC will be canceled from April 1, 2026. Overall, the weak supply-demand pattern of PVC has not changed for the time being. The cancellation of the export rebate will directly increase the export cost of PVC, but before April 1, there may be a rush to export. In the medium and long term, attention should be paid to the disruption to supply caused by increased competition among upstream enterprises. In the short term, the chemical sector is collectively strengthening. For single-leg trading, a short-term bullish approach is recommended, with the 2605 contract's range referring to 4750-5000. In terms of arbitrage, attention can be paid to the 3-5 contract calendar spread.

A-share coal chemical industry concept continues to strengthen, Liuhua shares hit the daily limit, followed by Baofeng Energy, Shanxi Coking Coal, Baotailong, Xinghua Shares, Yunwei Shares, Huachang Chemical and others.

Qi Xiang Tengda recently stated during a targeted investor survey that the company is continuously exploring new downstream application scenarios for its products, such as the use of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) in electronic cleaning, maleic anhydride in new environmentally friendly building materials, high-purity anhydrous tert-butanol in semiconductor photoresist diluents, and propylene oxide in new energy vehicle seat filling materials. Simultaneously, the company is advancing key technology breakthroughs through independent research and development, as well as collaboration with research institutes and universities, to accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into practical applications. Currently, leveraging the advantages of its existing MMA products, the company is steadily extending into downstream high-performance resin materials such as PMMA. It has already initiated small-scale PMMA technology cooperation with research institutes and will subsequently promote pilot-scale and industrialization research.

Recently, Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co. The propylene dimerization pilot plant has successfully produced qualified 4-methyl-1-pentene product for the first time, with an average purity exceeding 98%.This marks a significant phased technological breakthrough in China's synthesis of this high-end specialty monomer. 4-methyl-1-pentene is a key monomer for synthesizing poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP), which is used to manufacture ECMO membrane oxygenators.Nuclear pore membrane material Core ingredients For a long time, the PMP resin industry chain has been firmly controlled by Japan's Mitsui Chemicals. The localization rate of 4-methyl-1-pentene is zero, leaving it 100% dependent on imports, which represents a genuine "bottleneck" technology.

Exxon Mobil announced on January 24 that it would suspend operations of some units at its Baytown, Texas refining and petrochemical complex due to expected freezing weather in the next three days. The complex, located east of Houston, includes a chemical plant, an olefins plant, and a refinery with a daily processing capacity of 564,400 barrels. The company's community alert did not specify the scope of the shutdowns, but the cold snap could lead to a short-term tightening of energy supplies in the region. As one of the largest refining bases in the United States, the complex experienced a complete shutdown in 2022 due to a winter storm, which then caused a 3% disruption to the nation's refining capacity.

January 27th report. Heng Hui Security During investor relations activities, the company stated that its "4,800-ton annual ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber project" has made substantial progress, with 2 production lines achieving stable mass production and successfully completing the first batch of order deliveries. The remaining production lines are being accelerated for installation and commissioning. Of the company's planned new total capacity of 12,000 tons, the remaining 7,200 tons of capacity will be dynamically adjusted and initiated opportunistically based on the overall strategic rhythm and market demand, ensuring that capacity release is precisely matched with market demand.

SC crude oil futures contract performed strongly today, closing up 4.07% at 457.3 yuan/barrel. Geopolitical tensions continue to evolve. Following the US-Venezuela and US-Iran situations, President Trump's remarks last week about forcibly acquiring Greenland and imposing tariffs on eight European countries shifted the geopolitical focus again. However, Trump changed his stance during the Davos Forum. Last Friday, the US announced a new round of sanctions against Iran. In the short term, continue to monitor geopolitical developments. Considering the current global oil oversupply, the height of emotional premium will be suppressed, making it difficult for oil prices to continue to rise. In the medium term, the driving force will return to fundamentals, and a bottom-range fluctuation is expected in the first quarter.

With the implementation of the new EU Battery Regulation, the German Battery Act has been upgraded to BattDG. Starting in 2026, the OfH recycling system will replace the old one. OfH is an officially recognized Producer Responsibility Organization, responsible for managing the battery recycling network, data reporting, and collecting environmental fees. Cross-border sellers should pay special attention: merchants selling products containing batteries, using German warehouses, or shipping to German consumers must bind with OfH. Otherwise, they face risks such as registration cancellation, product seizure, and high fines. Key steps for compliance include: confirming the authorized representative status, clarifying battery categories, binding OfH in the EAR system, and updating platform information and labels. The new regulation requires companies to bear full life-cycle responsibility, and sellers are advised to self-check their compliance status as early as possible.

Tracking and analysis of consumption trends by the State Taxation Administration using tax big data reveals multiple highlights in China's consumer market in 2025, with robust demand released for household appliances, mobile phones, and new energy vehicles (NEVs). Invoice data shows that appliance consumption maintained a growth trend in 2025, with sales revenue from daily home appliances such as refrigerators, kitchen and bathroom appliances such as gas stoves, and communication equipment such as mobile phones increasing by 17.4%, 12.9%, and 18.6% year-on-year, respectively. Consumption of NEVs continued to gain momentum. According to unified motor vehicle sales invoice data, the sales volume and sales revenue of new energy passenger vehicles grew by 24.3% and 21.1% year-on-year, respectively, in 2025.

According to Tianyancha legal litigation information, recently, Evergrande New Energy Automobile Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. and Evergrande New Energy Automobile (Liaoning) Co., Ltd. have added a piece of information about being an executor, with an execution target of over 200 million yuan, and the executing court is the Hunnan District People's Court of Shenyang City. Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. was established in January 2019, with Liu Weisheng as its legal representative and a registered capital of 3.5 billion US dollars. Its business scope is to lawfully invest in areas where foreign investment is permitted by the state. According to shareholder information, the company is jointly held by Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited and Evergrande Hengchi New Energy Vehicle (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. Tianyancha risk information shows that the company currently has 15 records of being an enforced person, with a total enforced amount exceeding 3.3 billion yuan. In addition, there are multiple records of equity freezes, dishonest enforced persons (deadbeats), and concluded cases.

Recently, the 150,000 tons/year autoclave process project for Shaanxi Yanchang China Coal Yulin Energy & Chemical Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Yuchenghua"), EPC contracted by Beijing Petrochemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (referred to as "BPEC").EVAThe kick-off meeting for the supporting facilities and system engineering of the EVA project was successfully held, marking the official entry of the project into the comprehensive implementation phase. Shaanxi Yanchang Zhongmei Yulin Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. plans to build a 150,000 tons/year autoclave EVA unit (the EVA unit can produce four products, including EVA, EnBA, EMAA, and LDPE, with the capacity of a single product not exceeding 150,000 tons/year, which can be switched according to market demand, and the total capacity of different product combinations is 150,000 tons/year) on the reserved open space in the existing plant area. Other auxiliary facilities include: packaging plant, circulating water field, ground flare, peroxide warehouse, 2# general substation, tank farm and central control room renovation, etc.

  On January 23rd, butadiene rubber (BR) continued to hit the daily limit in early trading, currently up 6.99%. A research report from Guotai Junan Futures on January 23rd indicates that in the short term, capital flow determines capital price. Against the backdrop of a macro narrative of incremental capital allocating to the chemical sector, butadiene and butadiene rubber are expected to remain strong in the short term. There are two main reasons: first, in the presence of substitution demand within the rubber sector, overall synthetic rubber industry spot transactions remain neutral, maintaining high apparent demand for synthetic rubber; second, butadiene's strong short-term fundamentals are driving up the cost of synthetic rubber. On the butadiene raw material side, butadiene currently presents a strong reality and strong expectations. On the supply side, ethylene cracking operating rates in China remain high, and domestic butadiene production is at a high level compared to recent years. On the other hand, ethylene plants are facing pressure on profits, limiting operating rates in the Asian region. As a result, supply is contracting, and rising international butadiene prices are driving China's butadiene prices higher. On the demand side, synthetic rubber maintains high demand for butadiene due to high production profits, while ABS and SBS demand for butadiene remains stable. Overall, butadiene's short-term fundamentals are neutral to strong, providing support for spot prices. On the butadiene rubber side, apparent demand remains high, and there are no significant contradictions in the fundamentals, mainly fluctuating following the cost side.

In 2025, Tesla's new car registration share in California was 9.9%, a 1.7 percentage point decrease from 2024, making it the brand with the most significant decline in the state. This data was released by the California New Car Dealers Association on January 22nd, based on Experian statistics. Sales decreased from nearly 203,000 units to less than 180,000 units, leading to a year-over-year reduction of approximately 7,300 zero-emission vehicle registrations statewide. The main reasons include an aging product line, lower-than-expected Cybertruck sales, an increase in competing electric vehicle models, the cancellation of federal tax credits, and consumer resistance due to Elon Musk's political activities. The Model Y remained California's best-selling EV, and the Model 3 ranked as the state's second best-selling passenger car. California is currently planning to allocate $200 million to restart state-level car purchase subsidies.

On January 22, 2026, Zotye Auto launched a recruitment drive in Jinhua and Hangzhou, opening a total of 49 positions across departments including design, R&D, validation, production entry, legal, and procurement. It is reported that the recruitment aims to advance new energy vehicle projects initiated in 2025 and restart its complete vehicle business. Currently, candidates have been identified for approximately 20% of the positions, with applicants primarily concerned about salary and job stability. In the first three quarters of 2025, the company reported revenue of 419 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.98%, but recorded a net loss of 223 million yuan. Over the past seven years, Zotye has accumulated losses exceeding 25 billion yuan, with sales in 2024 totaling only 14 units.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has approved the establishment of banks by Ford Motor Company and General Motors under their respective units, Ford Credit Bank and GM Financial Bank. Both banks are chartered in Utah and positioned as industrial banks, with their primary business involving the provision of automotive financing products through the purchase of retail installment sale contracts. The FDIC requires both banks to maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 15% and explicitly mandates that Ford and GM provide support for their respective banks' capital and liquidity positions. This move signifies the further deepening of the two major automakers' presence in the automotive finance sector.

GAC Group recently responded to investor inquiries regarding whether models such as the Trumpchi M8 would be sold through Huawei's retail channels. The company stated that the comprehensive cooperation framework agreement signed with Huawei Terminals on January 5 focuses on the co-construction of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, joint innovation in AI technology, and smart cockpits. The partnership aims to integrate the strengths of both parties in new energy vehicle manufacturing, operating systems, and global services to create globally competitive intelligent mobility solutions. GAC emphasized that the current cooperation is limited to strategic synergy at the technical and ecological levels and does not involve sales channels for the time being. Since 2017, GAC and Huawei have deepened their cooperation across multiple fields, including hardware, software, cloud services, smart manufacturing, and high-end intelligent new energy vehicle brands.