BASF eyes China project
BASF CEO Martin Brudermuller has signed a nonbinding agreement with Chinese authorities to build a wholly owned chemical complex in Guangdong, China. The German chemical giant says spending on the new site could reach $10 billion by 2030, making it the largest investment in the company’s history and the biggest in China by a foreign company. BASF’s project is part of a wave of foreign investments in China totaling $23 billion pledged by various companies in the past week. The catalyst for the proposed investments is China’s removal of a policy requiring foreign manufacturers to form a partnership or joint venture with local Chinese firms. Petrochemical consulting firm PCI Wood Mackenzie says the policy change could shift investment dollars from other leading petrochemical-producing regions, including North America and the Middle East. Some 15 rules relating to foreign companies investing in China have been lifted. The European Chamber of Commerce in