China is one step closer to launching its own diesel engine oil specification – D1 – after an industry committee in the country endorsed it at the end of September. Developers say they intend to write a full slate of domestic specs to replace the foreign specs that China’s markets now follow.

In Japan, KH Neochem Co. and metalworking fluid and industrial oil producer Yushiro Chemical Industry Co. both reported large increases in profits for the quarter ending Sept. 30. KH Neochem said an uptick in air conditioner sales raised demand for its refrigeration lubricant raw materials. Yushiro said its results were aided by recovery in automotive production in several key countries despite the impacts of the ongoing global shortage in semiconductors.

Xinjiang Korla Fragrant Pear Co.’s board of supervisors voted unanimously Nov. 24 to approve the company’s acquisition of Tongyi Petroleum Chemical Co., one of China’s largest independent lubricant suppliers. The final hurdle to the proposed ¥1.4 billion deal is approval by shareholders, who are scheduled to consider the proposal at a meeting on Dec. 10.