To understand what could be the largest-ever takeover by a Chinese company, look no further than the changes in the nation’s diet. A successful bid by state-owned China National Chemical Corp., or ChemChina, to buy Syngenta AG, a Swiss producer of pesticides and engineered seeds, could help China combat weeds and insects with less labor as farm workers are increasingly turning to higher-paying city jobs, and after the amount of arable land has declined. At the same time, China’s growing middle class has increased its meat consumption, boosting feed-grain demands. While ChemChina’s initial $42 billion bid for Syngenta was rejected, people with knowledge...
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