South Korean base oil exports decreased 23% in October, compared to the same month last year, while the declared value of those exports was down 14%, according to data recently released by the Korea Customs Service. The country exported 329,898 tons of base oil in this year’s tenth month compared to 429,107 tons in October of 2021.

Bangladeshi lubricants blender Lub-rref reported a 3% decrease in net profit and a 12% drop in sales revenue on lower operating profit and higher operating expenses for the quarter ending Sept. 30, the first quarter of its fiscal year. The company’s net profit for the period was 79.5 million taka on sales of 438.8 million taka.

The December issue explores what it will take for the lubricants industry to sustain the various engine oil approval systems and delves into the ways that energy-efficient hydraulic fluids can help to lower costs for equipment owners. Plus, discover how base oil production in the United States during the first half of 2022 differed from previous years.

Hanwei Technology Co., a South China chemical company offering mold release agents, among other products, raised ¥1.2 billion in an initial public stock offering this week, raising less than what the company had targeted. Hanwei – which is based in Dongguan, just north of Shenzhen in the Pearl River delta – plans to use the funds to expand its production capacities, most for chemicals sold into the plastics and cosmetics industries.