Syngenta OKs ChemChina bid

na at the US Soybean Export Council, said China could use Syngenta’s deep experience and resources in intellectual property, risk control and environmental management to bring its products to global markets.

“On the other hand, Syngenta will have better access than other global companies to sell its products in our domestic markets,” said Xu Hongcai, a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

“China’s pesticide industry is riddled with low profitability and only global scale can improve that.”

The government pins high hopes on the reform to solve structural issues in the agricultural sector, where some agricultural products are oversupplied while others rely heavily on imports.

China has been encouraging its companies to use both domestic and global resources to ensure the coun- try’s grain and food security in its agricultural policy.

Niu Dun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, said earlier this year that the deal would generate a positive outcome for China to upgrade its abilities in grain and food production, supply chain building and processing.

Syngenta has 28,000 employees in more than 90 countries and regions. Its sales revenue dropped 1 percent year-on-year to $3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2017.

Beijing-headquartered ChemChina possesses production, research and development, and marketing systems in 150 countries and regions. Materials sciences, life sciences, high-end manufacturing and basic chemicals are its main businesses.

It also acquired nine companies in France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Italy and Germany.