Chinese giants in merger talks

摘要

A possible merger with fellow Chinese state-owned group Sinochem could bring welcome relief to debt-laden chemicals giant Chemchina as it looks to wrap up the US$43.5bn acquisition of Switzerland-based seeds company Syngenta. With dynamic chairman Ren Jianxin leading the way, ChemChina has aggressively bought assets at home and abroad, including last year's US$7.7bn purchase of Italian tyre-maker Pirelli and this year's bid for Syngenta, which would be China's biggest overseas acquisition. But these bold buys have left China National Chemical Corp, popularly known as ChemChina, highly leveraged.