Chemical Processing - January 2008 - (Page 22) drivers in the sustained expansion of the Indian construction chemicals market,” noted F&S’s Dominic Britto. However, it’s China that’s really leading the charge. The country’s consumption of chemicals is booming. A small but typical example is the expected increase in demand for ame retardants. This should rise from 529,500 tons/year today to over 800,000 tons/year by 2012, according to F&S’s Dan Xu. “China has increasingly become the global production base for electronic products and a key region for consumption of plastics. The increase in demand for electric and electronic equipment as well as ongoing development of the building and construction and automotive industries spell good news for the growth of the Chinese ame-retardant chemicals market,” he said. In November, such buoyant consumption, coupled with brisk exports, prompted the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mandaluyong City, Philippines, to raise its economic growth forecast for China to 11.2% from 10% earlier in the year. “The faster-than-expected growth momentum built up this year is expected to carry into 2008,” said Zhuang Jian, senior economist of ADB’s China Resident Mission. This is the highest growth rate since 1994 and is largely being driven by the chemicals, oil processing, electricity and steel industry, he explained. A new set of statistics released in November by China’s Ministry of Commerce underscores the importance of the country to world trade. It revealed that in the rst 10 months of 2007 the value of both Sino-U.S. and Sino-E.U. bilateral trade exceeded $200 billion. For the rst time, the E.U. came out on top, with trade worth over $287 billion, versus $248 billion for the U.S. and $191 billion for Japan. However, it’s important to remember that the U.S. receives one- fth of all Chinese exports and that any downturn in the American economy will have serious repercussions there. In fact the People’s Bank of China estimated that every 1% drop in U.S. economic growth translates into a 6% fall in Chinese exports. Hardly low interest The sub-prime-loan debacle remains a continuing concern that clearly has ramifactions for the overall economy and, with it, chemical makers. While initially it was viewed as a short-term problem, today the doomsayers are gaining the upper hand. For example, in November, Jerry Webman, the chief economic and senior investment of cer with Oppenheimer Funds, Denver, Colo., commented that as each day passed more and more was learned about the size and scope of “unsavory loans” that remain on U.S. banks’ balance sheets. With consumer con dence plummeting, house prices falling and commodity prices rising, he pointed out that some commentators were already using the “r” word — recession. However, Webman did point to the third consecutive monthly decline in overall jobless gures as a “glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark backdrop.” SERFILCO® SERFILCO® SERFILCO ® Centrifugal ‘3x2’ Pumps >> Worldwide outlook 2006 2007 2008 World GDP growth 3.8% in 2006, 3.5% in 2007 and 3.3% in 2008 8.0 8.2 7.6 6.5 6.7 10 8 Real GDP (% increase) 6 4 2 3.0 3.0 2.8 2.4 2.12.2 5.8 5.7 4.8 5.6 2.22.42.2 FILTRATION FILTER MEDIA 0 EU27 SERDUCTOR PUMPS North South Emerging Japan America America Asia Eastern Europe www.serfilco.com email: sales@serfilco.com 847-509-2900 800-323-5431 FAX: 847-559-1995 Figure 2. North America and Japan will show lowest GDP growth, followed closely by the European Union. Source: Cefic. 22 • January 2008 www.chemicalprocessing.com http://www.serfilco.com http://www.serfilco.com http://www.chemicalprocessing.com
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