As China wants to reduce the number of its state-held firms, the government plans to merge chemical groups Sinochem and ChemChina to create a global oil and chemicals giant worth around US$100 billion in annual revenues, Reuters reported on Friday, citing three people in the know. ChemChina, which goes under the official name of China National Chemicals Corporation, is expected to boost Sinochem’s oil refining business with around 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil processing capacity. Sinochem, on the other hand, has been facing a slowdown in its overseas oil and gas business with the lower-for-longer crude prices. Its energy business has also been stagnating amid growing Chinese competition from state oil trading company Unipec and from Chinaoil. A ChemChina spokesperson has commented on the Reuters report of a potential merger, saying “there is no such thing”. According to one of the Reuters’ sources, a possible […]