ChemChina (Beijing), China’s fastest-growing chemical firm, today denied press reports that it is discussing a merger with Sinochem (Beijing). Such a deal would create a chemical giant with annual revenue of $100 billion. “There is no such thing,” ChemChina tells CW.
A Reuters report, citing people familiar with the matter, says the deal has been proposed by the Chinese government to reduce the country’s number of state-owned companies and create larger, more competitive global industry players. Sinochem is taking the lead in the potential merger, the report says.
ChemChina is finalizing its $43-billion acquisition of Syngenta, the world’s biggest producer of agricultural chemicals, in the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company.
Sinochem and ChemChina are each listed on the Fortune Global 500 corporations by revenue. The list puts Sinochem in the 139th place with 2015 revenue of $60.7 billion. ChemChina is number 234 with revenue of $41.4 billion. Sinochem’s businesses include energy, agchems, chemicals, real estate, and financial services.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
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