Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat: I would appreciate your advice on Methanex. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Methanex Corp., $53.82, symbol MX on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 90.3 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; www.methanex.com), is a Vancouver-based methanol producer and distributor. It’s the world’s largest methanol supplier, with an estimated 15% market share. The company produces 70% of its methanol in New Zealand and Trinidad (where it holds a 63.1% stake in Atlas Methanol). It makes a further 18% in the U.S., 7% in Medicine Hat, Alberta, 4% in Chile and 1% in Egypt. Methanex also resells methanol produced by others. Methanol is usually made by mixing natural gas with steam, then putting the resulting gas mixture through a liquid conversion and distillation process to create pure methanol, a clear, liquid hydrocarbon that is water-soluble and biodegradable. A range of products include methanol, such as windshield-washer fluid, plastic bottles, wood floors, paint, silicone sealants and synthetic fibres. It is also sometimes blended with gasoline and is increasingly added to other fuels, such as biodiesel and dimethyl ether, a gaseous fuel used…