ICIS updates the top 10 chemical company rankings

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ICIS updates the top 10 chemical company rankings Ups and downs
19 September 2008 12:30 [Source: ICB]
Of the 10 ranked highest in our global Top 100, four hold firm, twodrop down and four climb - with two new entries. Here are thehighlights of the chemical sector's brightest players
Listen to Andy Brice and Will Beacham discuss the change inrankings

1 BASF - UNCHANGED
Changes at board level have done little to dent the hopes of Germanmajor BASF in retaining its top position in our rankings. The board ofexecutive directors saw the retirement of Eggert Voscherau, PeterOakley and Klaus Peter Lobbe, and the addition of Harald Schwagerand Hans-Ulrich Engel in January and March, respectively.
After the chemical giant announced more than a year ago that itwould sell its styrenics division, it finally looks like a dealwill be done. The price tag originally deterred bidders, but thedecision to reorganize its styrenics business and add its copolymeroperations to the mix looks likely to bear fruit.
2 DOW - UNCHANGED
Second-placed Dow Chemical has continued its aggressive cost-control plans and raised effortsto respond more effectively to surging costs. The US-based producerhas stolen most of the headlines for major acquisitions this year,particularly with its announcement in July that it would buyspecialty chemical maker Rohm and Haas , also of the US, for $18.8bn (