HAB Pharma and Signature Phytochemicals merge to build a Rs 600 crore specialty pharma platform – Global News Digest, 20 May 2026

Petrochemical Talent & Leadership Moves

HPCL and IIT Bombay complete first module of flagship petrochemicals leadership programme at HRRL

Grasim taps Coromandel's Jaydeep Mondal as VP and Unit Head bringing 20 years of chemicals expertise

Mergers & Group Restructuring

Kothari Petrochemicals merges with sister sugar firm in 1:5 share swap to simplify group structure

HAB Pharma and Signature Phytochemicals merge to build a Rs 600 crore specialty pharma platform

Project Delays & Industrial Risk

Energy Transfer quietly pulls air permit for $1.8 billion Texas cracker leaving 40,000 residents uncertain

Ukraine drones hit Russia's largest nitrogen fertiliser plant in seventh strike on Nevinnomyssk

Chilling plant blast sparks inferno at Rewari ink factory injuring six and forcing 300 to flee

Green Fuels & Circular Energy

South Africa's first green methanol plant will turn Gauteng sewage sludge into shipping fuel by 2029

MOL Group adds biomethane unit at Szarvas to feed Hungary's gas grid with 7 million cubic metres a year

Strategic Supply Deals

OXEA and Air Liquide extend Oberhausen syngas partnership for 12 years with €20 million upgrade

Brenntag wins exclusive Nouryon Bermocoll distribution deal to deepen Latin America paints reach

Biotech & Agri-Chem Launches

Wacker launches RNA and LNP contract research to help biotech startups move faster from lab to clinic

IIL launches GRANUVIA to give rice farmers 60 days of brown planthopper control in a single dose

Materials Innovation

Covestro opens Guangzhou TPU application centre to serve China's electronics and automotive boom

MXene-polyurethane coating clears ice in 290 seconds and self-heals in 300 seconds under light

Gayatri Rubbers lands first Kinet Railway order for EPDM spacers on Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets

Packaging & Supply Chain Stress

Hormuz blockade exposes India's aluminum can gap as Coca-Cola revives glass bottle Diet Coke

Australia's three ministers convene emergency plastics roundtable as Middle East crisis hits food packaging

Circular Economy Watch

AZUR marks Germany's Overshoot Day by calling for mandatory retreading and pyrolysis of 600,000 tonne tyre waste

BCG study projects Germany's circular economy value will hit €125 billion by 2045 validating AZuR's strategy

Rubber Market Momentum

Vietnam rubber stocks surge as nine-year price high and industrial land windfalls fuel dual growth story

Small-Cap Earnings Pressure

Jolly Plastic's FY26 net profit collapses 40% to Rs 1.06 lakh as Q4 swings to a Rs 27 lakh loss