CEO of pharma-giant BASF foresees no deindustrialization in Germany

The chief executive of chemical giant BASF sees no signs of deindustrialization in Germany despite the country's ongoing economic difficulties.

"Industry in Germany will not disappear," Markus Kamieth told the Handelsblatt buisness newspaper in an interview published on Friday.

"We are an economic area with a high proportion of industry in terms of value creation. That will remain the case, even if it declines slightly," said Kamieth. "Companies will restructure, adjust capacities, but also invest heavily in new projects."

At the same time, the head of the world's largest chemical company said he does not foresee an imminent upturn in the German economy, which is reeling from two consecutive years of recession in 2023 and 2024.

"We currently assume that there will be no significant economic recovery in 2026," he said, characterizing the current period as the "most difficult in 25 years."

BASF has shut down facilities at its loss-making Ludwigshafen plant and launched several cost-cutting programmes across the group, including job cuts. However, Kamieth rejected accusations that BASF is investing too much in China, where the DAX-listed company has built a huge plant for €8.7 billion ($10.1 billion). 

He said that Ludwigshafen is still the heart of the company, and insisted that "BASF invests more in Ludwigshafen than anywhere else in the world – even more than in China."