August 30, 2026 17:02

The European Commission approved the creation of a 50:50 joint venture between Ineos and Chinese group Sinopec on 26 August 2026, involving a 500,000 t/year high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in Tianjin, China.

The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure pursuant to the EU Merger Regulation.
The Commission concluded that it would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area (EEA), given its limited impact on the European market.

The deal is one of three major petrochemical agreements announced by Ineos and Sinopec, with a combined value of around USD 7 billion and total capacity of 7 million t/year.
In addition to the Tianjin investment, the two partners had announced plans to build at least two further HDPE plants in the future, each with the same production capacity.

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