Methanol JV may boost fertilizer maker

A new US$188 million methanol plant in Hainan Island has been set a production target of 600,000 tonnes of the chemical per year. The plant is a joint venture by Kingboard Chemical Holdings and China BlueChemical, the Hong Kong Standard reported. China's top fertilizer maker China BlueChemical owns 60% of the new plant. "The unstable supply of methanol has been a headache for our company," said Kingboard chairman Paul Cheung Kwok-wing. The announcement yesterday was made the same day that China BlueChemical opened its public share issue in Hong Kong. Methanol prices have risen about 25% year on year to about US$314 per tonne.