Global News Post: Gulf

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">DUBAI
(NNN-Bernama) -- As demand for petrochemical products moves East, India, with a
burgeoning middle class that will number around 400 million by 2025, is among
the most important growth markets for companies from the Gulf, a new study
says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to the study by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, in order to supply new
markets in a sustainable way, companies must accumulate comprehensive know-how
to drive technologies, research and efficiency - either through collaborations
or through acquisitions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Rising
oil and gas prices, growing demand from <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>
and other emerging economies and strong global competition are presenting
petrochemical companies with new challenges and long-term reliable access to
feedstock, technologies and markets is becoming increasingly important, Press
Trust of India (PTI) said citing the report. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
study 'Global petrochemicals: Who is really benefitting from the growth in the
new world?' analyses the current situation across the petrochemical industry
and outlines possible solutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Strong
economic growth and the rise of the middle classes in many emerging economies
is shifting the focus of global demand for petrochemical products
eastward," Jaap Kalkman, a Partner with Roland Berger Strategy
Consultants, said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
case of <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>, demand for
petrochemical products is forecast to rise through 2015 at around six per cent
a year, and in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place> by as much as
11 per cent. By contrast, annual growth rates in Europe and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
will stick at around one per cent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">, with a growing middle class is one of the
most important growth markets for companies from the Gulf, it said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">European
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
petrochemical companies, which had enjoyed a market share of around 62 per cent
in the 1980s, had fallen to just 30 per cent in 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">New
suppliers from the <st1:state w:st="on">Gulf States</st1:state> or parts of <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> have been consistently gaining market share since
the 1990s, thanks to their enormous price and transport advantages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"In
recent years, new oil and gas extraction technologies have made production from
unconventional sources, such as shale gas, economically viable," Roland
Berger Partner Alexander Keller said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Countries
like the US and Canada have benefited strongly from the major shale gas reserves
they hold and are becoming an attractive base for a lot of companies setting up
refineries," Keller said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
<st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>, stricter environmental protection laws
mean the industry will not expand into unconventional gas feedstock. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As
one of the largest Asian growth markets, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> cannot satisfy domestic
demand for petrochemical products from its own feedstock and products. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to the report, the government is promoting the creation of local research and
development clusters, especially with European and US companies to enable
Chinese firms enter into partnerships with outside players or build up their
own capacities. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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India among Key Emerging Markets for Gulf Firms

DUBAI (NNN-Bernama) -- As demand for petrochemical products moves East, India, with a burgeoning middle class that will number around 4...