Personal care and home care are one of the major end-users for surfactants. Surfactants are used as ingredients in a variety of products in the personal and home care segment, such as foaming agents, dispersants, emulsifiers, solubilizing agents, cleansers, conditioners, toiletries, and detergents, among others. The personal care industry accounted for a healthy share in the Latin American market, in 2018.

Carpets are defined as textile floor coverings that consist of an upper layer of a pile that is attached to a backing. Since the earliest times, humans have found various ways to keep themselves protected from cold and discomforting floors. With time, various natural and fabricated materials have been used to provide an enhanced level of comfort and durability. The carpet pile was traditionally made of wool that was sheered from the hairs of domesticated animals such as sheep and goat. However, since the 20th century, synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, and polypropylene that were more affordable and durable than wools are being used to weave carpets.

The rising construction activities, both, in residential and non-residential sectors in the country are the key driving factors for the paints and coatings market. The increasing residential construction activities are driving the demand for architectural and wood coatings among others. To advocate the growing construction industry trend, there is a nationwide royal directive for housing construction in Bahrain to cater the rising housing demand, owing to the population growth, which, in turn, is likely to drive the paints and coatings usage in the country. The Northern [Town] project is one of the residential projects by the Government of Bahrain, which was commenced in 2012 and opened in 2018. The project is likely to produce housing for 100,000 people. This had a drastic impact on the architectural coatings market in the country.

Countries, such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and other European countries held a prominent share in the global cosmeceuticals market. China, India, and Vietnam present considerable growth opportunities for the market players, primarily due to the growing millennial population. Furthermore, rising awareness regarding cosmeceutical and cosmetics products, such as anti-aging, sun care, and hair care products, is expected to drive the growth potential in the near future. The introduction of new products with bio-active ingredients play a crucial role in driving the demand for cosmeceutical products across the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

Polyurethane is used in various high-performance products, which are required for building and construction purposes, owing to their strong but lightweight nature, superior performance, durability, and versatility. Polyurethane building materials add design flexibility to newly done construction and remodeling projects. Foamcore panels offer a wide variety of colors and profiles for walls and roofs, while foam-cored entry doors and garage doors are available in different finishes and styles. Additionally, polyurethane products also contribute to the aesthetic design of homes and buildings.

Personal care is one of the major end users for surfactants. Surfactants are used as ingredients in a variety of products, such as foaming agents, dispersants, emulsifiers, solubilizing agents, cleansers, and conditioners, among others, in the personal care segment. The personal care industry accounted for a healthy share of the global market, in 2018. • Consumers are facing numerous skin- and hair-related problems, like eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, ichthyosis, dry hair, scalp diseases, grey hair, dandruff, and premature baldness, among others. This is likely to lead to a growth in demand for personal care products, and consequently to the growth of the surfactant market, across the region.

Consumers have become more concerned about the environment because of the various government awareness programs, thereby, forcing manufacturers to focus more on new eco-friendly technologies. As a result, formulation and manufacture of environmentally friendly products, like solvent-free adhesives, are growing in popularity. Given the rising environmental regulations regarding consumption and production of various adhesives, which are harmful to the environment, various companies are implementing recyclable and bio-based production methodologies as a part of their growth strategies, in order to sustain their positions in the hot-melt adhesives market. Biocompatible products are considered suitable for packaging applications, especially for the food packaging industry, because they are portrayed as being eco-friendly.

Methanol is considered as one of the most important basic chemicals in the petrochemical industry. It forms a basis for a wide range of products, that have spread to all the areas of modern life. Methanol plays a major role in petrochemicals (within various applications) - it is used in the energy sector in its pure form or mixed with other fuels, and is also used in the production of the fuels. Petrochemicals have permeated into all sorts of everyday products that are integral to today’s modern societies, such as plastics, fertilizers, packaging, clothing, medical equipment, detergents or tires. Additionally, petrochemicals are also found in various parts of modern energy systems including solar panels, wind turbine blades, batteries, thermal insulation for buildings, and also in electric vehicle parts.

A polymer microsphere is a prominent ingredient delivery technology for many controlled drug delivery applications, due to its ability to encapsulate a variety of drugs, biocompatibility, and high bioavailability. These microspheres have a number of advantages over conventional drug delivery systems, which mainly includes an effective administration of therapeutic active molecules in a controlled and sustained manner to the target site with improved therapeutic effects. Basically, microspheres are classified into bio adhesive microspheres, magnetic microspheres, floating microspheres, radioactive microspheres and polymeric microspheres. The different types of polymeric microspheres can be employed as effective controlled release dosage forms. They represent great pharmaceutical applications in area of drug delivery technology with multidisciplinary advancements.

Plastics additives represent one of the most pervasive raw materials that are essential in the manufacture of various plastics. Growing demand for plastics, coupled with various specialty applications, is expected to further drive the additives demand over the forecast period. The upstream sector of the plastic industry provides raw materials for making plastic products. Crude oil is extracted from the ground, and goes through a distillation process in a naphtha cracker plant. This process refines feedstock or monomers in the form of petrochemicals. Around 2.4-4% of all distillation products in upstream production are further refined for producing monomers, to be used in all types of plastics and packaging.

The Indian adhesives and sealants market (henceforth referred to as the market studied, unless specified otherwise) was valued at USD 1,019.92 million in 2018. This market is expected to reach USD 1,911.82 million by 2024, recording a CAGR of 11.17% during the years 2019 to 2024 (henceforth referred to as the forecast period). In terms of volume, India adhesives market stood at 343.20 kilo metric ton in 2018, and it is estimated to reach 603.75 kilo metric ton in 2024, recording a CAGR of 10.16% during the forecast period. One of the major factors driving the growth of the market studied is the increasing demand from the packaging industry. The growth of automotive production in the country has also majorly contributed to the growth of the market.

本周基础化工指数区间上涨2.04%，上证综指同期上涨1.77%，本周基础化工板块跑赢大盘。在当前形势下，我们选股策略如下：（1）需求稳定增长，供给端格局持续转好的行业的优质企业。（2）注重安全环保，EHSQ，产业链一体化完全，受益于供给侧改革的行业龙头企业。（3）科学技术工艺领先，研发能力强，不断突破创新，具有核心竞争力的企业。（4）率先完成全球化布局，规避贸易摩擦的企业。  

UDC 业务主要集中于技术专利授权与材料销售，目前公司在显示技术与材料市场都面临着激烈的竞争，行业中的其他企业都相继自主开发发光层材料与功能性材料，对UDC 构成了不小的冲击。在材料销售领域，市场上主要材料制造商集中在日本和德国，包括住友、出光兴产、德国默克化学、德国CYNORA 等知名企业。在核心发光材料领域，UDC 的磷光发光材料面临着荧光发光材料的竞争，供应商有斗山电子、陶氏化学、出光兴产等。在主体材料领域，市场竞争格局主要包括斗山电子、陶氏化学、德山、三星电子、德国默克等拥有大量资源的公司，未来可能会与UDC争夺市场份额。

2019 年民营大炼化进入投放期，聚酯产业链产能结构得到改善，具有一体化优势的炼化企业将受益。第二轮中央生态环保督查正在进行时，具有完善环保安全设施的头部企业将进一步受益。建议持续关注聚酯产业链板块及具有安全环保高壁垒的头部企业。

中美贸易冲突加剧，美国制造业数据进入收缩区间，美联储主席讲话并未提供进一步降息的线索，虽然钻机数减少、原油库存下降，但仍难抵抗短期利空的持续释放，原油价格承压回落。本周 BRENT原油期货价格为 59.34 美元/桶，较之前一周上涨 0.70 美元/桶,涨幅 1.18%；8 月 23 日 WTI 原油期货价格为 54.17 美元/桶，较之前一下跌 0.70 美元/桶，跌幅 1.29%。