The Weekly News Update is a weekly roundup of business news from around the Asia-Pacific region, covering Fusion Consulting's core industry practices: chemicals, consumer & retail, financial services, industrial & logistics, information & communication technology, life science and media & leisure. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.    Major chemical company expansion in Asia-Pacific   Rohm & Haas has been named the most vigorous chemical company in  Asia-Pacific in the latest Asia-Pacific Chemical Business Vitality Index report,  out-competing its chemical and energy sector peers with a winning combination of  regional presence, revenue performance and innovation. Request your free copy  here.

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India - Import of soda ash from the US set to rise soon Source: The Economic Times, 29 April 2008 The Indian and US soda ash industry have been in a face-off since 1996, when the US export cartel American Natural Soda Ash Corp's (Ansac) attempt to enter India was thwarted by intense lobbying efforts by Indian producers. However, this is set to be changed as demand for soda ash rises. In India, soda ash is made by a few players and the list includes Tata Chemicals, Nirma, GHCL, DCW and Saurashtra Chemicals. Indian capacity is moving on, from largely meeting domestic demand, to becoming global in size and reach. India's soda ash consumption is rapidly increasing, growing at 5% compared with a 2% global growth. Indian soda ash capacity is expected to grow by 34% to 4.3 million tons in 2009. But greenfield sites are expensive: a 400,000 tons capacity could cost about US$225 million to set up. China - Higher carbamide costs put pressure on fertilizer makers Source: Asia in Focus, 29 April 2008 Production costs of carbamide in East China's Shandong province grew by RMB150-300/ton (US$21.5-US$43/ton) in recent months, affecting grain output. Statistics show that the present purchase prices of carbamide reached RMB900-1,050/ton (US$128-US$150/ton) in Shandong in comparison to RMB760/ton (US$108.8/ton) in January 2007. China will add 7.3 million tons of carbamide production capacity in 2008-2009, and its carbamide output will reach 57 million tons in 2008. Fertilizer producers may obtain less profit as a result of the rise in production costs and the government's tight control over fertilizer retail prices. Indonesia - Pertamina plans to build polypropylene plant Source: Reuters News, 02 May 2008 Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina plans to build a polypropylene plant near its 125,000 barrels-per-day Balongan refinery complex in West Java. The polypropylene plant will cost around US$200 million with a production capacity of around 200,000 tons a year. Indonesia currently has a production capacity of around 600,000 tons per year of polypropylene. Indonesia is Asia Pacific's only member of OPEC, but ageing fields and lack of investment has made the country a net crude oil importer in recent years, although it is still a net energy exporter, thanks to a huge supply of natural gas and coal. View an example of our experience in this industry. Back to list of articles. Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

This Weekly News Update is a free newsletter, providing a round-up of the week's Asia-Pacific news from our core industry practices. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.

Fusion Consulting is a business intelligence consultancy providing clear strategic advice on Asia-Pacific markets. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong and 400 industry consultants in 16 countries, we conduct custom research and consulting to help companies understand their markets, compete more effectively and grow into new areas of opportunity. Email more@fusionc.com or visit www.fusionc.com for more information.