Adrian Brown is away. His column will reappear in the May 3 edition of Lube Report Asia.

Demand for API Group II and III base stocks in India will rise as the market shifts toward better quality lubricants, an industry expert said.

Fuchs Petrolub SE announced yesterday the opening of its new lubricants blending plant in Wujiang in Chinas Jiangsu province. The plant has 100,000 metric tons per year production capacity in its first phase, almost double that of the Shanghai plant that it will replace.

Lub-rref (Bangladesh) Ltd., the largest lubricating oil blending plant in Bangladesh, is poised for expansion and growth with the proceeds of its upcoming initial public offering. The company has not disclosed the amount it plans to raise.

The Asia-Pacific region now accounts for more than half of global base oil demand, an ICIS representative told an industry conference in Suzhou, China, last week.