Haldia is already a licensee of Basell's technology in commodity plastics, and might fancy direct access to Basell's wide expertise in more upmarket stuff.

ECONOMIST: Plastics and petrochemicals

Dow Chemical, operating in the dull but brutal commodity-plastics market, now splits out and prices separately the add-on services that it once provided in a lump along with its products.

ECONOMIST: Pricing strategies

The Midland, Michigan-based company still gets 40% of its revenues from basic commodity chemicals and plastics.

FORBES: Chemical transformation