Investments and Portfolio Measures

Investments in property, plant and equipment amounted to €6,506 million in 2024 (2023: €5,864 million). Capex accounted for €5,996 million of this amount (2023: €5,198 million). Our investments in 2024 focused on the Chemicals, Materials and Nutrition & Care segments.

Capex by segment 2025–2028

We drove forward our investment projects in 2024, focusing on the expansion of our position in our three key and attractive regions: Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.

The Asia Pacific region – and China in particular with a share of around 50% – will continue to remain especially attractive. Between 2024 and 2035, we expect that around 80% of growth in the chemical industry will be concentrated in this region. In order to participate in this and to serve the increasing demand from various growth industries in this region, we are establishing, for example, our new integrated Verbund site in Zhanjiang (see page 25 onward). We also continuously invest in the ongoing development of our other Asian sites, such as our expansion project in Kuantan, Malaysia, in tandem with our partner PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad.

In North America, our focus is on the expansion of our production capacities in the isocyanates value chain in Geismar, Louisiana. The project is on schedule and is set for startup in 2026. The MDI expansion represents BASF’s largest single investment in North America.

In addition, we invested in our European sites. In 2024, we put a world-scale production plant for alkyl ethanolamines into operation at our Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium, thus expanding our global production capacities for this product and its derivatives by almost 30%. In Ludwigshafen, Germany, we continued to drive forward our chlorine and aroma projects among other things. In Ludwigshafen, we also completed the world’s first electrically heated steam cracker demonstration plant in 2024. In Schwarzheide, Germany, we put our prototype metal refinery for battery recycling into operation.

We want to expand and refine our portfolio through value-increasing acquisitions, especially in our core businesses. We will expand our regional presence in growth markets in a targeted manner and support our green transformation through sustainable business models.

Capex by region 2025–2028

In recent years, market growth in China has been driven by increased domestic consumption, higher standards of living as well as more local value creation. With a global market share of around 50%, China is the largest chemical market and drives the growth of global chemical production. BASF is very well positioned to capture future growth in China. We have built an extensive network throughout the country:

• Shanghai is home to our Greater China headquarters, one of our two Innovation Campuses in the Asia Pacific region as well as our Caojing production site.
• Nanjing is the location of our joint venture Verbund site with Sinopec as well as a wholly owned site.
• In Chongqing, we operate a wholly owned MDI production complex.

As of December 31, 2024, BASF had 12,687 employees in Greater China, 27 wholly owned subsidiaries and 30 production sites. In 2024, BASF posted sales of approximately €8.6 billion to customers in Greater China.

Guangdong is home to key customers from fast-growing industries

Market characteristics⁵

• Around 127 million residents in Guangdong province (2024)

• GDP Guangdong (2024): > $1.97 trillion (exceeding Brazil)

• GDP CAGR 2024–2039: ~4.6% p.a.

• Key customer industries: transportation, consumer goods, home and personal care, electronics

• Chemical products are generally undersupplied from local production

1 Industry real output, 2021-based, Guangdong Bureau of Statistics 

2 Real chemical gross output, 2021-based, inferred by gross output/value added ratio for China, Guangdong Bureau of Statistics

3 Guangdong Bureau of Statistics 

4 Real private consumption, 2021-based. S&P Global and BASF rebasing, subject to retrospective revision 

5 Guangdong Bureau of Statistics, S&P Global

With around 127 million residents, Guangdong is the most populous province in China. The province is the economic powerhouse of China and accounted for more than 10% of the country’s GDP in 2024. Guangdong province is home to many BASF customers in fast-growing industries such as transportation, consumer goods, home and personal care, and electronics. Zhanjiang has a deep- water seaport with easy access to shipments of raw materials and finished goods to and from other ports in China, Asia and other regions. It also offers the shortest sea routes between mainland China and Southeast Asia. The government of Guangdong province is committed to providing this area with world-class infrastructure.

To accelerate our growth in Asia, BASF commenced its Verbund project in Zhanjiang in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in 2019. In 2022, BASF made the final investment decision for the main construction phase of the Zhanjiang Verbund site, including a steam cracker and downstream plants to support our customers’ growth in the dynamic Chinese market.

The fully owned BASF Verbund site will involve a total investment of around €10 billion. When completed, the site will be BASF’s third-largest Verbund site globally.

Construction of the first plants started in 2020. A plant started up in July 2022 provides engineering plastics compounds to meet growing demand from the Chinese automotive and electronics industries. In addition, a production plant for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) came on stream in September 2023. The startup of the core of the Verbund – a steam cracker and plants for ethylene oxide, syngas, monoethylene glycol, polyethylene, oxo-C4 alcohols, acrylic monomers and neopentyl glycol – is expected to take place as of 2025.

BASF is building the Zhanjiang Verbund site as a model for sustainable production. The site will already be operated with 100% renewable electricity starting in 2025. As BASF’s first implementation of a fully digital smart Verbund concept in a large-scale project globally, the site will be built on the basis of cutting-edge technologies that maximize resource and energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Circular economy concepts will be incorporated into the new Verbund site to support customers in the region with low-carbon solutions.

In April 2024, Vattenfall and BASF contractually agreed on BASF’s purchase of 49% of shares in Vattenfall’s Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farm projects. On March 25, 2025, BASF and Vattenfall announced the sale of BASF’s 49% equity share in the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farm projects back to Vattenfall. The collaboration with Vattenfall will continue, securing BASF a long-term supply of electricity from renewable sources for its chemical production in Europe.

Following agreement on the sale of Wintershall Dea’s exploration and production (E&P) business, excluding Russia-related activities, to Harbour Energy plc, London, United Kingdom, in December 2023, this transaction was concluded on September 3, 2024. The E&P business consists of production and development assets, exploration rights and carbon storage licenses. In exchange, Wintershall Dea shareholders – BASF (72.7%) and LetterOne (27.3%) – received a cash consideration totaling $1.78 billion (BASF share: $1.29 billion), including a purchase price adjustment, and new shares issued by Harbour Energy equating to a total shareholding of 54.5% in the enlarged Harbour Energy company (BASF share: 39.6%).

Effective April 21, 2025, BASF completed the divestiture of its shares in BASF Markor Chemical Manufacturing (Xinjiang) Co., Ltd. and Markor Meiou Chemical (Xinjiang) Co., Ltd. in Korla, China, to Verde Chemical Singapore Pte. Ltd. The companies operated production plants for butanediol and PolyTHF, which were allocated to the Chemicals segment.

On December 21, 2024, BASF and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), Rotterdam, Netherlands, signed an agreement on the sale of BASF’s operations in food and health performance ingredients, including the production site in Illertissen, Germany, to LDC. Under the terms of the agreement, it is expected that approximately 300 employees will transfer from BASF to LDC on completion of the transaction, which remains subject to the customary closing conditions, including approval by the relevant regulatory bodies.

On February 17, 2025, BASF announced the sale of the Brazilian decorative paints business, which is part of BASF’s Coatings division, to Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland, Ohio. The purchase price on a cash- and debt-free basis is $1.15 billion. The transaction includes the production sites in Demarchi and Jaboatão, related contracts, the Suvinil and Glasu! brands, and the approximately 1,000 employees. The decorative paints business generated sales of approximately €485 million in 2024 and operates almost exclusively in Brazil. The divestiture is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authority.