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In this article we are going to list the top 10 chemical companies in the world in 2022. Click to skip ahead and jump to the top 5 chemical companies in the world in 2022.
The global chemical industry has staged a remarkable comeback after the pandemic occurred, being one of the few industries to actually grow versus 2019, the last "normal" year, with BASF's report expecting it to grow by 10% vs 2019. The growth rate in 2021 was an incredible 6.1%, though that was mostly facilitated because of the massive decline in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world and most industries came to a standstill. The growth rate has normalized in 2022, and is expected to be around 3.5%, which is in line with what the industry growth rate was before the pandemic.
In the United States, the chemical industry has also grown significantly in the past couple of years, mainly due to a strong demand for both commodity and specialty chemicals, which has allowed for higher prices throughout the year. Further, the biggest players in the industry, some of whom are among the top chemical companies in the world in 2022, have started to build their capacity and embark on higher capital expenditure, in order to enter more markets, either organically or inorganically. However, the industry does have to battle rising costs as inflation has gripped not just the United States, but the world, which is affecting margins, with companies trying to reduce costs elsewhere or simply raising prices.
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One of the most important areas that chemical industries are focusing on now is sustainability and decarbonization. Most companies have either already started to increase research and development costs, or are in the process of doing so, to lower their carbon footprint as the fight against climate change is taking center stage for most companies and how they're fighting the most important battle of our time. How these countries fight climate change affects potential customers' perception and willingness to deal with such companies, which is why chemical companies, who are often responsible for major toxic waste, are now taking this seriously.
While volatility is at an all-time high because of the pandemic, inflation and the pending threat of a recession, chemical companies are trying to fight this mainly by transforming their asset portfolios. The pandemic resulted in demand for specialty materials and plastics diverging, primarily because of petrochemical expansion in the US Gulf Coast. Further, the biggest chemical companies in the world have also embraced digitization, especially in terms of advanced data analytics in addition to potential advances in cognitive computing and sensors.
Another change taking place in the chemical industry is that it is becoming more customer centric, which is required for customer retention and customer loyalty. The pandemic may have accelerated the change but trends have been more customer driven for a while now, especially with more options to switch to.
China is the biggest chemical market in the world, and is expected to see continued growth of around 4%, despite demand from both electronics and consumer goods industries weakening, while it is still growing in the automotive industry, which is a major customer in China for chemicals. Despite slightly weakening growth, China's chemical industry growth rate still outpaces most of the major players in Emerging Markets. Compare this to the European Union, where expected growth is just 2.8%, despite a major rebound in demand expected from the automotive industry. The main reason behind the lower growth rate is that production had already started to slow down in 2021, with the United Kingdom expecting a growth rate of just 2.0%.
To rank the biggest chemical companies in the world in 2022, we consulted Fortune Global 500. We extracted the top 15 companies from the list and considered their revenue, profits, assets and number of employees. We then assigned 60% weight to revenue, 20% to profits and 10% each to assets and number of employees to come up with our more balanced rankings. You may also be interested in comparing our list to the 15 largest chemical companies in the world in 2020 which was based on metrics before the pandemic. So, without further ado, let's take a look at the giants of the chemical industry, starting with number 15:
10. Shenghong Holding Group
Total revenue of the company (in millions of dollars): 53,948
Total profit of the company (in millions of dollars): 941
Total assets of the company (in millions of dollars): 27,223
Total employees of the company: 35,788
We kick off our list with the Shenghong Holding Group, one of three Chinese companies in our list, which owns more than 30 subsidiaries and employs close to 36,000 people. The company is currently focusing on accelerating the modernization and internationalization process. The company mainly focuses on the production and development of superfine fiber and the total capacity of the chemical fiber has exceeded 2.3 million tons per year while production differentiation rate is 90%.
9. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 46,173
Total profit of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 5,610
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 36,742
Total employees of the company in 2019: 19,100
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) is a chemical company which is incorporated in the Netherlands, headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in London. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) is said to be the largest licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) also has a presence in France, where it has attracted negative attention for damaging the environment with the biggest nuisance being giant smoke plumes whose length can extend dozens of miles.
8. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 35,403
Total profit of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,577
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 45,910
Total employees of the company in 2019: 69,784
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings is the biggest chemical company in Japan, and one of the biggest chemical companies in the world in 2022. Founded in 2005 as a result of the merger between Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and the Mitsubishi Pharma Corporations, and is headquartered in Tokyo. However, the company may not be considered among the giants of the chemical industry as it has agreed to leave the commodity chemical business by 2023, as a result of poor growth potential and Japan's shift towards carbon neutrality.
7. LG Chem
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 37,830
Total profit of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 3,207
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 43,028
Total employees of the company in 2019: 40,000
Korea's largest chemical company, LG Chem is a behemoth which was initially established to manufacture cosmetics. Owned by LG Corporation, LG Chem is purely a business-to-business company after spinning off its consumer products division in 2001. Maintaining eight factories in Korea, LG Chem has at least 29 locations with a presence in more than a dozen countries. The company is known for its strong relationship with China, with China accounting for over a third of LG Chem's total sales. In 2020, a catalyst powder exploded due to high pressure at an LG Chem plant, resulting in the death of a researcher and two injuries.
6. Linde plc (NYSE:LIN)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 30,798
Total profit of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 3,826
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 81,605
Total employees of the company in 2019: 72,327
Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) may be one of the biggest chemical companies in the world, but it's still not even the biggest chemical company in Germany, with that honor belonging to the number 1 ranked company in our list. Even though Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) was founded in Germany, it has been headquartered in the United Kingdom since 2018, and domiciled in Ireland. Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) is listed on both the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
Please continue to see the top 5 chemical companies in the world in 2022.
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Disclosure: No position. Top 10 chemical companies in the world in 2022 is originally published at Insider Monkey.
