NEW YORK and LONDON, September 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

ICIS Chemical Business magazine has revealed the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies, sponsored by global chemical distributor DKSH, with rankings based on 2010 sales.

"The global chemical sector rebounded strongly in 2010 from the financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009, with robust sales and earnings growth," said Joseph Chang, Global Editor of ICIS Chemical Business. "Sales of the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies were $1.23 trillion in 2010, up 22.1% from 2009."

"Prices for key building block petrochemicals were pushed higher as developing world demand surged, particularly in Asia. Prices of other commodity chemicals also rose sharply as global markets tightened," said Nigel Davis, ICIS Insight Editor.

The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX), which is based on a global basket of 36 key olefins, aromatics and polymers prices, rose by 14.5% in 2010.

Germany-based chemical company BASF once again led the group with $84.7bn in sales, followed by US-based Dow Chemical with $53.7bn and the chemical business of US-based ExxonMobil with $53.6bn. China's Sinopec came in fourth with $48.7bn in revenues.

Both capital spending and research and development (R&D) gained across the sector, rising 11.9% and 5.3%, respectively.

Looking ahead to the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies listing based on 2011 sales, companies are poised to post further sales and earnings gains, even on slowing global economic growth.

The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies table was compiled by Lara McNamee and Regan Hartnell of the ICIS data & analytics team led by Paul Ray.

A PDF of the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies is available for download at http://www.icis.com/Top100Chem.

ICIS Chemical Business

ICIS Chemical Business is the leading weekly magazine focusing on global commodity chemical and polymers markets. Subscribe today at http://www.icis.com/subscribe.

ICIS

ICIS is the trusted information provider for the chemical and energy industries. ICIS aims to help companies in global commodity markets improve their revenues and profits by providing high quality, timely, commercially useful information, business leads and brand positioning across the globe. To find out more, visit http://www.icis.com.

Reed Business Information

ICIS is part of Reed Business Information, http://www.reedbusiness.co.uk, (RBI), a division of Reed Business and a member of Reed Elsevier plc (525), (UK:REL) (US:RUK) (NL:45443) the world's leading publisher and information provider. RBI publishes over 100 market leading publications, directories and online services, and organises many industry conferences and awards. The RBI portfolio includes Banker's Almanac, Computer Weekly, Farmers Weekly, Flight International, ICIS, Kellysearch, New Scientist, Personnel Today, Totaljobs and XpertHR. For a full listing visit http://www.reedbusiness.co.uk.

DKSH

DKSH is a leading specialty chemicals distributor and global provider of Market Expansion Services for performance materials doing business in and with Asia for nearly 150 years. As an independent solution provider, DKSH sources, develops, markets, and distributes a wide range of specialty chemicals and food ingredients to business partners in specialty chemicals, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries. DKSH Business Unit Performance Materials is present in 24 countries and has in-depth local knowledge spanning Asia, Europe, and North America.

http://www.dksh.com/chemicaldistribution and http://www.youtube.com/user/DKSHGroup

For media inquiries, contact:

Joseph Chang
Global Editor
ICIS Chemical Business
New York, US
T: +1-212-791-4224
joseph.chang@icis.com

Nigel Davis
ICIS Insight Editor
London, UK
T: +44-20-8652-3397
nigel.davis@icis.com

Lara McNamee
Online Intelligence Manager
ICIS Data & Analytics
London, UK
T: +44-20-8652-3223
lara.mcnamee@icis.com

Seraina Peter
Communications Manager, Performance Materials
DKSH
Shanghai, China
T: +86-21-5830-0518
seraina.peter@dksh.com

SOURCE ICIS Chemical Business