The Hindu : National : RIL among world's largest chemical firms

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RIL among world's largest chemical firms

RIL ranked globally at the 20th position
Tata Chemical ranked 115th in a separate list

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has been ranked globally at the 20th position on the ICIS Top 100 Chemicals Companies list. German major BASF topped the list.

The companies were ranked on the basis of their annual sales figures in the annual list released by ICIS Chemical Business magazine. The ICIS is a global information provider for the chemical and energy industries.

Terming RIL and Chinese major PetroChina among the major climbers on the list over the past decade, the report said the two companies could take top rankings soon.

“Reliance is a candidate for major acquisition, although it has failed to consummate deals recently,” the ICIS said, referring to the failed attempt by the Indian company to acquire global petrochemicals major LyondellBasell.

Incidentally, LyondellBasell has been ranked fifth in the list after BASF, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil and Sinopec.

At the same time, LyondellBasell was among the only 16 companies in the Top 100 to report a net loss last fiscal. It underwent Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the whole of 2009 and emerged from the exercise in April, 2010.

While RIL is the only Indian company in the top 20, another Indian company, Tata Chemical, has been ranked at 115th in a separate list of companies — titled ‘Bubbling Under' — that did not make it into the Top 100.

The RIL has been also named as the 8th biggest gainer in terms of operating profits.

The report noted that the global chemical industry went through a year of turmoil in 2009, but RIL figured among the few companies on the list that bucked the trend.

The RIL was ranked 20th on the basis of sales worth $12.3 billion last year, while top-ranked BASF had sales of $72.7 billion. — PTI

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