The top 10 largest chemical companies in the world saw their average percent of sales grow by 13.65 percent Year-over-year — paving the way for strong growth in the chemical industry. What is the chemical industry and who are the 10 largest chemical companies in the world; both by sales and market cap in 2020? The chemical industry is compromised of all the companies that manufacture, produce, and sell industrial chemicals. The chemical industry used to be worth USD 1.8 trillion in 2002 and is currently generates over USD 4.1 trillion in sales annually — leading to stellar growth and an exceptional outlook for investment and expansion opportunities at a B2B level. The largest chemical company in the world is DuPont, followed by BASF, and Sinopec. This post will breakdown the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world by sales and market cap to give you the best analysis on where to invest and who to create B2B connections with. The article will answer the following questions:
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Who are the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world by sales as of 2020? The following is a list of biggest chemical companies ranked by sales generated in USD billions.
Who is the largest chemical company in the world? DuPont surpassed BASF as the largest chemical company in the world in terms of sales finally, after BASF holding the record as the top chemical producer for 12 years. DuPont is an American chemical company resulting from the merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont. DuPont’s headquarters are in Wilmington, Delaware and last year brought in annual sales figures of USD 85.97 billion. DuPont has a current market cap of USD 52.69 Billion
Is BASF the largest chemical company in the world? For 12 years BASF used to be the largest chemical company in the world but was surpassed in chemical sales by DuPont in 2018. Before BASF’s 12-year run as the largest chemical company in the world, Dow Chemicals used to be the largest. BASF is a German chemical company and with sales figures of USD 74.06 billion generated last year and a current market cap of USD 71.58 Billion — making BASF is one of the largest chemical companies in the world. BASF has current business segments in chemicals, plastics, performance products, functional solutions, agriculture, biotechnology, and oil and gas. BASF’s ranking in the chemical industry has remained consistently in the top 2 over the last few years.
Ranking 3rd on BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world is Sinopec, a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Beijing, China. Sinopec saw a 22% increase in sales last year, the largest rise among the top chemical companies on this list. In addition to oil and gas exploration, Sinopec is mainly known for its production and sales of petrochemicals, chemical fibers, chemical fertilizers, and other chemical products.
Last year, Sinopec generated sales of USD 69.21 billion and has a current market cap of USD 84.45 Billion — making it one of the biggest chemical companies in the world by sales and valuation.
SABIC is 4th on this list of the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world by sales and market cap. SABIC is a Saudi multinational chemical manufacturing company that is a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco. SABIC is known for its petrochemicals, chemicals, industrial polymers, fertilizers, and metals products and saw a sales increase of more than 12 percent from last year — one of the fastest risers on this list of the top chemical companies in the world.
Ranking 5th on this list of the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world is Ineos, a UK-based multinational chemical company headquartered in London. Ineos is compromised of 20 business units, all operating separately. Last year Ineos generated sales of USD 36.97 billion and has 22,000 employees worldwide specializing in the production and manufacturing of chemical products, petrochemicals, and even plastics.
Ranking 6th on this list of the biggest chemical companies is Formosa Plastics Corp, a Taiwanese plastics company based in Taiwan, known primarily for producing polyvinyl chloride resins and other plastic products. Formosa generated USD 36.89 billion in sales last year — making it the 6th largest chemical company in the world by sales. In this same span, sales grew by 13.8 percent year-over-year.
ExxonMobil Chemical ranks number 7th in the world by sales among the largest chemical companies. Despite ranking 7trh in sales, ExxonMobil Chemical is the largest chemical company in the world by market cap at a valuation of USD 308.91 billion last year.
LyondellBasell ranks 8th on this list of the largest chemical companies in the world with sales figures of USD 30.78 billion generated last year. LyondellBasell is a public multinational chemical company that produces ethylene, propylene, polyolefins, and oxyfuels. The company’s legal headquarters are in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Ranking 9th on this list of the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world is Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, a Japanese company formed in October 2005 from the merger of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the company saw a sales grow by 7.1 percent last with last year’s sales reaching USD 28.74 billion — making this Japanese chemical company one of the biggest chemical companies in the world.
Rounding out BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world is LG Chemical, the largest Korean chemical company in the world. Last year, LG Chem generated annual sales of USD 25.63 billion, primarily due to buying soluble organic light-emitting diode technology from DuPont.
This is BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world in 2020, ranked by a combination of sales and market cap. As main customers spend on R&D and the largest chemical companies continue to push the envelope in the industry, the chemical industry will continue to take leaps forward. Last year, all of the top 10 chemical companies saw an increase in the percent of chemical sales of their products.
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Here is the complete list of the top 50 largest chemical companies in the world by sales as of last year.
Rank | Company | Chemical Sales (USD millions) | Headquarters | % Sales Increase (YoY) |
1 | DuPont | 85,977 | Midland, USA | 37.6 |
2 | BASF | 74,066 | Ludwigshafen, Germany | 2.4 |
3 | Sinopec | 69,210 | Beijing, China | 22.4 |
4 | Sabic | 42,120 | Saudi Arabia Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 12 |
5 | Ineos | 36,970 | London, UK | 2.1 |
6 | Formosa Plastics | 36,891 | Taipei, Taiwan | 13.8 |
7 | ExxonMobil Chemical | 32,443 | Irving, USA | 13.1 |
8 | LyondellBasell Industries | 30,783 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 8.7 |
9 | Mitsubishi Chemical | 28,747 | Tokyo, Japan | 7.1 |
10 | LG Chem | 25,637 | Seoul, South Korea | 9.7 |
11 | Reliance Industries | 25,167 | Mumbai, India | 37.3 |
12 | PetroChina | 24,849 | Beijing, China | n/a |
13 | Air Liquide | 24,322 | Paris, France | 2.8 |
14 | Toray Industries | 18,651 | Tokyo, Japan | 8.7 |
15 | Evonik Industries | 17,755 | Essen, Germany | 4.2 |
16 | Covestro | 17,273 | Leverkusen, Germany | 3.4 |
17 | Bayer[C] | 16,859 | Leverkusen, Germany | 49 |
18 | Sumitomo Chemical | 16,081 | Tokyo, Japan | 8.7 |
19 | Braskem | 15,885 | São Paulo, Brazil | 17.7 |
20 | Lotte Chemical | 15,051 | Seoul, South Korea | 4.2 |
21 | Linde plc | 14,900 | Guildford, UK | 30.3 |
22 | Shin-Etsu Chemical | 14,439 | Tokyo, Japan | 10.6 |
23 | Mitsui Chemicals | 13,432 | Tokyo, Japan | 11.6 |
24 | Solvay | 13,353 | Brussels, Belgium | 3.7 |
25 | Yara | 12,928 | Oslo, Norway | 13.8 |
26 | Chevron Phillips Chemical | 11,310 | The Woodlands, USA | 24.8 |
27 | DSM | 10,951 | Heerlen, Netherlands | 7.4 |
28 | Indorama | 10,747 | Jakarta, Indonesia | 21.2 |
29 | Asahi Kasei | 10,654 | Tokyo, Japan | 8.1 |
30 | Arkema | 10,418 | Colombes, France | 5.9 |
31 | Syngenta | 10,413 | Basel, Switzerland | 12.6 |
32 | Eastman Chemical | 10,151 | Kingsport, USA | 6.3 |
33 | Borealis | 9,852 | Vienna, Austria | 10.2 |
34 | SK Innovation | 9,719 | Seoul, South Korea | 14.4 |
35 | Mosaic | 9,587 | Tampa, USA | 29.4 |
36 | Huntsman | 9,379 | The Woodlands, USA | 12.2 |
37 | Wanhua Chemical | 9,172 | Yantai, China | 14.1 |
38 | PTT Global Chemical | 8,969 | Bangkok, Thailand | 15.7 |
39 | Ecolab | 8,964 | St. Paul, USA | 11 |
40 | Air Products & Chemicals | 8,930 | Allentown, USA | 9.1 |
41 | Westlake Chemical | 8,635 | Houston, USA | 7.4 |
42 | Lanxess | 8,505 | Cologne, Germany | -25.5 |
43 | Nutrien | 8,130 | Saskatoon, Canada | 75.9 |
44 | Umicore | 8,113 | Brussels, Belgium | 27.1 |
45 | Sasol | 8,110 | Sandton, South Africa | 4.2 |
46 | Tosoh | 7,803 | Tokyo, Japan | 4.7 |
47 | Johnson Matthey | 7,579 | London, UK | 16.1 |
48 | DIC | 7,296 | Tokyo, Japan | 2 |
49 | Hanwha Chemical | 7,273 | Seoul, South Korea | 3.3 |
50 | Celanese | 7,155 | Irving, USA | 16.5 |
Source: Chemical & Engineering News
Which chemical companies rank the highest by their estimated market cap? These are the top 10 largest chemical companies by market cap in 2020.
Rank | Company | Market Cap (USD billions) | Headquarters |
1 | ExxonMobil Chemical | 308.91 | Irving, USA |
2 | The Linde Group | 108.45 | Dublin, Ireland |
3 | Sinopec | 84.45 | Beijing, China |
4 | Bayer AG | 74.31 | Leverkusen, Germany |
5 | Sabic | 72.4 | Saudi Arabia Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
6 | BASF | 71.58 | Ludwigshafen, Germany |
7 | Air Liquide | 62.4 | Paris, France |
8 | DuPont | 52.69 | Midland, USA |
9 | Air Products & Chemicals | 50.15 | Pennsylvania, USA |
10 | Shin-Etsu Chemical | 45.86 | Tokyo Japan |
Source: Value Today
Consumer spending and the rise of chemical production to take advantage of the shale gas boom is leading to the exceptional rise of chemical sales. This growth is led by the top 10 largest chemical companies in the world as they increase production and open new facilities. Expect the industry to keep growing to take advantage of economic prosperity.
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