China's optical fiber boom sends prices up 650% as AI data center demand goes vertical – Global News Digest, 20 Apr 2026

Geopolitical impact / Supply chain crisis

South Korea's big chemical firms unite to shield supply chains from Middle East chaos

Lotte Chemical locks in RM103 million intra-group naphtha deal to beat supply crunch

Middle East supply crunch forces analysts to more than double PetChem earnings forecast

Iran's petrochemical sector hits $150.6 billion in exports over just 15 months

Industry & infrastructure news

Modi to dedicate India's first greenfield integrated refinery-petrochemical complex at Pachpadra

Fire breaks out at Pachpadra refinery just hours before PM Modi's high-profile inauguration

Egypt opens $10.2 million North Sinai plastics factory to anchor regional industrial growth

Teknor Apex and DCM Shriram launch PolyTek JV to tap India's booming polymer market

Air Liquide pours €200 million into Hiroshima to fuel Japan's next-gen semiconductor push

Sustainability & innovation

Scientists find compatibilizers could finally make sorting plastic bottles a thing of the past

BASF heads to interpack 2026 with recyclable, compostable packaging built for new EU rules

Arkema and Zephir Project build the world's first fully recyclable composite speed board

Danone, Lala and Yakult join forces to finally close the loop on dairy packaging in Mexico

Policy & regulation

India reopens glyphosate debate as shortage of licensed operators stalls herbicide access

US chemical industry cheers 'One Big Beautiful Bill' as the key to reviving domestic manufacturing

Indonesia's parliament speaker tells street vendors: ditch plastic, go back to banana leaves

Investments & corporate moves

PPG posts $15.9 billion in sales and extends its 54-year unbroken dividend growth streak

Symrise bets on fermentation tech by taking a strategic stake in Bond Pet Foods

Rubber & tyres

KL rubber market closes mixed as EV demand and crude prices pull in opposite directions

Pirelli brings a new-compound SCX tyre to Jerez for its first head-to-head race test

Midnight blaze engulfs entire tyre factory in Kanpur Dehat, damage feared in crores

Industrial incidents

Quick-thinking Vadodara factory workers stop fiber plant fire before it turns catastrophic

Specialty materials & print

China's optical fiber boom sends prices up 650% as AI data center demand goes vertical

Sun Chemical arrives at Fespa 2026 with ink upgrades spanning every major print format