Polycarbonate (PC) based on phenol as a raw material, has seen a recent price increase
due to higher price of phenol.
Bayer raised the price of PC in mid 2007, and announced another hike with effect from mid November.
Bayer and GE Plastics (recently acquired by SABIC) are the global market leaders for Polycarbonate.
In the longer term, however, new capacity and slower growth rates could create a buyers' market. SABIC's
interest in setting up a new capacity of PC in Al Jubail is expected to raise global capacity significantly.
The original Saudi plan for the newest project was to bring on line annual production capacity exceeding 4 million
metric tons of petrochemical and chemical products by 2009 under the banner of a public company called Saudi Kalyan,
which is 35% owned by SABIC.
Major capacity expansions in China are already being slowed by market worries. Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas was selected
to build a 240,000 metric ton bisphenol-A facility and Daelim Industrial of Korea received a contract to build a
260,000 tpa polycarbonate plant based on Asahi Kasei technology. It seems very unlikely that plan will proceed,
even though contracts were awarded in February.
It is definite that the PC business will be adversely affected on account of higher capacity and slower growth coupled with higher price of feedstocks. The Polycarbonate market will definitely turng into buyers market
by 2009 latest, if not earlier.