Lotte Chemical Titan secures $3 billion ethylene supply deal in Indonesia
Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI), which recently commissioned a cracker in Indonesia's Banten province, will sell 350,000 tonnes of ethylene annually to Lotte Chemical Indonesia Nusantara (LCTN) beginning in September.
Lotte Chemical Titan indirectly controls a 92.5% stake in Lotte Chemical Titan Nusantara.
Lotte Chemical Corp's (011170.KS), opens new tab large-scale petrochemical plant, LCI, in Banten province, is 51% owned by Lotte Chemical Titan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Reuters
Indonesia's economic growth likely slowed again in Q2: Reuters poll
BENGALURU, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia's economy likely grew at its slowest pace in nearly four years last quarter as weak household spending weighed on overall growth and offset a boost from exports, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Southeast Asia's largest economy likely grew 4.80% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, slightly below the 4.87% expansion recorded in the first quarter, according to the July 25–August 1 poll of 26 economists. The government is due to announce the figures on Tuesday. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, gross domestic product (GDP) likely recovered from a 0.98% contraction in the January-March period to 3.70% growth. "Consumer confidence is waning, industrial activity is slowing and youth unemployment remains high. Real retail sales figures have also been weak throughout the second quarter as households remain cautious about spending due to stagnant real wage growth," said Jeemin Bang, associate economist at Moody's Analytics. Indonesia's Retail Sales Index contracted 0.3% in April but rose a modest 1.9% in May, indicating subdued household consumption. The government announced an over 24 trillion rupiah ($1.5 billion) fiscal stimulus package in June that included cash handouts and transport subsidies to stoke demand. Meanwhile, exports rose 11.29% in June, extending a positive trend throughout the second quarter as firms accelerated shipments ahead of a proposed 32% U.S. tariff which was later revised to 19%. Still, Bang cautioned that although only 10% of Indonesian exports go to the U.S., indirect effects from tariffs on other key trading partners and a weakening global outlook are likely to weigh on growth in the months ahead. Responding to softening domestic demand and sluggish global trade, Bank Indonesia cut interest rates last month. Governor Perry Warjiyo said the central bank would assess if there was room for further easing. A separate Reuters poll conducted in July showed economic growth in Indonesia would average 4.8% in 2025, near the lower end of the central bank's forecast range of 4.6% to 5.4%. That remains well short of the 8% annual growth target President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to achieve during his five-year term, which began last year. ($1 = 16,488 rupiah)
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
OCBC sees tariff uncertainty lingering, trims 2025 outlook after in-line Q2 profit
SINGAPORE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said tariff uncertainty was likely to persist despite fresh deals struck by U.S. President Donald Trump, as the bank cut its 2025 net interest income expectations after a 7% drop in second-quarter net profit. OCBC, Singapore and Southeast Asia's second-largest bank, on Friday posted net profit of S$1.82 billion ($1.40 billion) for the April-June period, down from S$1.94 billion a year earlier, matching the mean estimate of nearly S$1.82 billion from three analysts polled by LSEG. The decline was mainly due to lower net interest income. OCBC expected its 2025 net interest income to be lower by a mid-single-digit percentage and projected its net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, to be in the range of 1.90% to 1.95% versus around 2% targeted in the previous quarter. The bank maintained the rest of its 2025 financial targets. "The uncertainty is still there," OCBC Group CEO Helen Wong said in a briefing after the bank's earnings announcement, referring to the evolving tariff landscape. "There is still China coming up, and last night we see a few more conclusions," she said. "Even if the tariff situation of China has been announced, it doesn't mean that we won't stop looking at the impact, so it is an ongoing process." Wong, the first woman to head the bank, will retire at the end of this year. Tan Teck Long, OCBC's deputy CEO and head of global wholesale banking, will succeed her. Tan said that the full ripple effect of tariffs, such as the high levies on Chinese goods, had not yet played out, but was already creating a surge of Chinese products into other markets and hurting local businesses. However, he added that import-reliant sectors especially in Singapore, such as construction, were benefiting from a decline in the price of raw materials. OCBC is the first Singaporean lender to announce results this earnings season. It follows other major global lenders which reported a mixed bag of results this week. Standard Chartered (STAN.L), opens new tab reported on Thursday a higher-than-expected 26% jump in first-half pretax profit boosted by the strong performance of its wealth and markets businesses. HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L), opens new tab, meanwhile, reported on Wednesday a sharper-than-expected drop in profit in the same period, pressured by write-downs from exposures to a Chinese bank and Hong Kong real estate. Wong said while OCBC did not see significant weaknesses in its portfolio, Hong Kong commercial real estate remained a sector that it was monitoring closely. The bank was working with customers to support them, she added. Despite the profit dip, OCBC's non-interest income grew 5% year-on-year, lifted by better fee and trading income. Its wealth business' assets under management expanded by 11% to a record high of S$310 billion, driven by net new money inflows and positive market valuation. Return on equity fell to 12.3% from 14.2% a year earlier, while its net interest margin slipped to 1.92% from 2.20%. OCBC declared an interim dividend of 41 Singapore cents. Rivals DBS Group ( opens new tab and United Overseas Bank ( opens new tab are scheduled to report their earnings on August 7. ($1 = 1.2974 Singapore dollars)
Reuters
17 hours ago
- Reuters
Thailand economic growth slows in June
BANGKOK, July 31 (Reuters) - Thailand's economy slowed in June compared with the previous month following an earlier acceleration, as exports and industrial production declined and tourism revenues also fell, the central bank said on Monday. Industrial production declined, with automotive production consistent with the fall in exports and domestic sales, the Bank of Thailand said in a statement. Exports, a key driver of the economy, grew 16.1% in June from a year earlier, while imports rose 13.8%, resulting in a trade account surplus of $3.3 billion, it said. Thailand posted a current account (THCURA=ECI), opens new tab surplus of $2.4 billion in June, the BOT said. Private investment in June rose 0.7% while private consumption dropped 0.3% from the previous month, the BOT said. In the second quarter of 2025, Southeast Asia's second's largest economy is expected to have grown at a similar pace to the first quarter, the central bank said. In June, the central bank lifted its central-case growth forecast to 2.3% for 2025, nearly equaling last year's expansion of 2.5%.
