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Article: New regional order for the low countries. (Belgium, Netherlands) (Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Chemical Week
- Article date:
- July 15, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Access Intelligence, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Belgium tips the competitive balance
The investment boom of the late 1980s is over for Belgium and the Netherlands. The chemical industry--an important sector in both countries, with combined sales of Dfl 90 billion ($53 billion), of which 75% is exported--reports that profits are down 20%-50%.
The regional competitive balance is also shifting. Up to 1989, the Dutch chemical industry was considerably larger, in sales and in investment, than its Belgian counterpart. But starting in 1990, Belgian chemical makers began investing more than the Dutch, and in 1991 surpassed them in sales.
Investments have declined in both countries, but the ...