The Chemical Activity Barometer (Cab) rose 2.7 % in July on a three-month moving average basis following a 0.1 % gain in June, according to the American Chemistry Council. It further adds that on a year-over-year basis, the barometer fell 8.9 % in July.

Favourable government policies and a thriving generic drugs market are the core drivers for India’s contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) and pharma market attracting investment from global private equity firms recently.

A polycarbonate facility operated by Sabic in Cartagena, Spain, is set to become the world’s first large-scale chemical production site to be run entirely on renewable power, following the signing of a major agreement.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has plans to take over the European firms of CFK Valley Stade Recycling and Carbonxt. The aim of the acquisition is line with the company’s goals of promoting the circular economy.

The search engine and market intelligence platform chembid starts the year with a new strategic partner. Evonik Venture Capital has joined as a new shareholder. The investment is intended to support the development of an independent marketing platform for the chemical industry.

A project will be developed by Repsol and Acteco to increase the production capacity of recycled polyolefins at Acteco’s facility in Spain. The move is in line with Repsol’s objective of becoming a net zero emissions company by 2050.

With the growing demand for low viscosity polyalphaolefin (Lovis Pao) synthetic base stocks, Exxon Mobil has plans to increase its Lovis Pao production capacity in Europe as well as strengthen its supply chain network across the globe.

Wacker is expanding its existing vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions production facilities in the United States. The Munich-based chemical company will add a new reactor with an annual capacity of 85,000 metric tons at its Calvert City site, investing an amount of around €50 million in the site’s capacity and infrastructure.

Under the terms of the agreement, the newly formed joint venture will work to develop a new chemicals investment platform to fund and supervise projects in the Ruwais Derivatives Park, which is expected to play a vital role in UAE’s chemicals and industrial growth strategy.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) supports the chemical recycling technology and believes that it is important for the technology to stay part of the EU’s innovation agenda in order to create a more dynamic market for recycled plastic.