Ashland Inc.s motor oil brand Valvoline has come under fire in Australia for a recent television commercial criticized as promoting reckless driving.

This month will see the startup of a new, privately owned polyalphaolefin plant in China. By early July, say officials with Naco Lubrication Co. Ltd., their Shanghai facility aims to be making commercial volumes of high-viscosity PAO and other components used to make synthetic lubricants.

Engine lubricants can help provide fuel economy improvements that are becoming bigger priorities for Asian governments, including India. But that will require lower viscosity oils and effective use of additives such as friction modifiers.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. began commercial operations last month at its new lubricant factory in Haiphong, Vietnam. The Japanese energy giant is banking on the U.S. $10.1 million facility to help it gain a large chunk of the local market.

Asia accounted for 40 percent of global demand for metalworking fluids in 2012, according to a new study by Kline & Co. The U.S.-based consulting firm also predicted that metalworking fluid demand will grow faster in Asia than in any other region - at an average annual rate of about 2.8 percent through 2017.