This week on petrochemicals

1. BASF aims to reduce annual expenses by €1 billion at its Ludwigshafen headquarters by the end of 2026 due to heightened production costs and sluggish demand in both upstream and downstream sectors in Germany. Further details regarding this initiative are expected in the latter half of 2024.

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2. The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which primarily focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises and coastal regions, recorded a reading of 50.9 in February, showing a slight increase from January's 50.8. This marks the fourth consecutive month of expansion in the manufacturing sector, with a PMI above 50 indicating growth.

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3. Turkey's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2023 expanded by 4.5% compared to 2022, with the economy growing by 4% in the fourth quarter on a yearly basis. Sector-wise growth compared to the previous year includes construction (7.8%), industry (0.8%), finance and insurance activities (9%), services (6.4%), public administration, education, human health, and social work activities (3.8%), real estate activities (2.7%), other service activities (4.6%), information and communication activities (1.3%), and professional, administrative, and support services activities (1.2%).

4. The Indian government will include polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polypropylene (PP) molding and extrusion into the mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification process for chemical and petrochemical imports. The enforcement of BIS certification will take effect 180 days after their publication in the Official Gazette.