German chemical company BASF is to invest $ billion in a highly - integrated new chemical site in China 's Guangdong province , in what will be the company 's third - biggest facility and its largest investment to date . There may be some perceived political aspect factored in due to tariff concerns, but on a $10 billion investment, decisions are made with a long-term view, and that favours China.’ It is planned to develop cracker products and downstream specialties , including surfactants , polymers and engineering materials , in a location near China , with China being the world 's largest chemical market with 40 % market share . The first phase is to include petrochemical plants including a large cracker , and is expected to be operational by 2026 , while the entire facility is scheduled to be complete by 2020 .
German chemical company BASF is to invest $ billion in a highly - integrated new chemical site in China 's Guangdong province , in what will be the company 's third - biggest facility and its largest investment to date . It is planned to develop cracker products and downstream specialties , including surfactants , polymers and engineering materials , in a location near China , with China being the world 's largest chemical market with 40 % market share . The first phase is to include petrochemical plants including a large cracker , and is expected to be operational by 2026 , while the entire facility is scheduled to be complete by 2020 .