, Columnist
China’s Chemical Romance Could End in Tears
Beijing’s push to create monopolistic giants doesn’t work for anyone.
This suggests a path of suppressed profits and returns.
Photographer: Visual China Group/Getty Images
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Just as chemicals conglomerates are going out of fashion in the U.S., they’re back in vogue in China.
The country’s two biggest, Sinochem Group and China National Chemicals Corp. or ChemChina, are finally starting to merge after almost two years of on-again, off-again speculation, Caixin reported at the weekend. That’s in contrast to the way DowDuPont Inc. is reformulating itself into three separate companies.3 Investors who’ve driven up shares in the publicly traded units of the state-owned Chinese groups this week might want to ponder whether it’s the better path.