Industry Note No. 18 - A Primer on China Methanol Economy
This Chemicals Industry Note, produced by McQuilling Services Singapore, is the first of a two-part series summarizing the China methanol economy. “Methanol Economy” for China – The global methanol industry has progressed rapidly over the years, driven by the Asian market, with China spearheading global growth. Rapid urbanization, abundance of coal resources as a feedstock for producing methanol and its popularization in many energy applications have propelled China to become the world’s largest methanol producer and consumer. In this paper, we discuss the development of a “Methanol Economy” for China over the last 10 years and prospects going forward.
Industry Note No. 17 - Sailing the Social Seas
For thousands of years, social networking has played an important role in the shipping industry. This cultural phenomenon can simply be defined as the interaction between a group of people who share a common interest. In the beginning, most interaction occurred face-to-face, however, with the evolution of technology, shipping participants found new ways to connect to their social networks. Today, web and mobile based networking technologies, better known as social media sites, have become a popular way for social networks to communicate. Many fear that these digital platforms make relationships irrelevant; however, when looking at the way networking in the shipping industry has developed over the years, new technologies are just a natural progression of communication.