Why has the Nasdaq Index been rising continuously?

Even if you look only at Chinese companies, you can roughly sense why the Nasdaq and Hong Kong stock indices have been able to rise sustainably over the long term. ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank: epitomes of low-volatility, high-dividend stocks—and winners of debt-driven expansion. China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom: licensed monopolies with de facto immunity from accountability; expanding operations in developing countries while maintaining tariff levels comparable to those of peers in developed nations. PetroChina and Sinopec: licensed monopolies with de facto immunity from accountability; raising prices when global oil prices rise—and also raising prices when global oil prices fall. China Merchants Shekou: an extraordinary enterprise—too sensitive to discuss in detail. Vanke: struggling. Conch Cement: a blood bag for the Luhe Railway project. Yihai Kerry: leader in the grain-and-oil sector—foreign investors may list but are not allowed to profit. Shein: a miracle from the Far East—Chinese firms may profit but are not permitted to list; go wherever you like. NARI Technology (State Grid): a subsidiary of the State Grid—both profitable and publicly listed. BAIC BluePark: perpetually unprofitable yet publicly listed—every share issuance deepens its losses. 'Far Ahead': So far ahead that it doesn’t need to raise capital via listing. ByteDance: When will it finally go public? Ant Group: fails to meet the main board’s requirements regarding stability of actual controllers. miHoYo: a niche, aesthetically refined player—excessive concentration disqualifies it from listing. 600519 (Kweichow Moutai): a traditional-sector industry leader with ultra-high concentration—the ‘first stock’.

Among ICIS’s Global Top 100 Chemical Companies, who is truly strong and who is merely bloated? What will define competitive advantage in the chemical industry going forward?

In 2025, Wanhua Chemical’s sales increased by $3 billion compared to 2024, while the combined sales of the other five companies declined by $15.9 billion. Facing the same sluggish global chemical market, why do Wanhua Chemical’s and other major chemical enterprises’ revenue trajectories differ so markedly? ICIS’s ranking does not break down contributions from product pricing, sales volume, newly commissioned capacity, product mix, exchange rates, or performance across different business segments—so it cannot provide deep, structural answers. Yet this question is precisely the most critical one. How do you, our friends, view this issue? Please share your thoughts in the comment section. II. Wanhua Chemical Has Reached a Strategic Crossroads In 2025, Wanhua Chemical’s sales reached $29.045 billion, while Rongsheng Petrochemical reported $28.98 billion—just $65 million less. Though their sales figures are nearly identical, their growth directions diverge sharply: Wanhua grew 11.6% year-on-year, whereas Rongsheng declined 8.8%. Among the global top 10 chemical companies, Wanhua Chemical was the sole one posting revenue growth; the other nine all recorded negative growth. The most intuitive conclusion is that Wanhua’s business structure outperforms its peers. However, revenue growth does not necessarily equate to a superior business model: raw material prices, product pricing, timing of plant commissioning, production utilization rates—all can dramatically shift revenue trajectories between two companies. In 2025, Wanhua’s revenue rose 11.6%, yet its net profit of $2.325 billion fell 3.9% year-on-year—revenue grew, but profits did not keep pace. Wanhua, too, is feeling industry-wide pressure. Having crossed the $30 billion revenue threshold, where will its next growth come from? After all, few tailwinds remain in the chemical industry, and the old 'scale wins' paradigm has lost its efficacy. Friends of Wanhua—where do you see Wanhua Chemical’s breakthrough opportunities lying in the future? III. The Largest Company Is Not Necessarily the Most Profitable Another notable trend in this year’s ICIS data is the stark contrast between scale and profitability. Among the global top 10, eight companies disclosed operating profit and EBIT. Their combined sales totaled approximately $366.2 billion, while their aggregate EBIT amounted to only about $2.66 billion—yielding a weighted average EBIT margin of just ~0.7%. By contrast, among the 83 companies ranked 11th–100th that disclosed EBIT, the weighted average EBIT margin stood at ~4.2%. Wanhua and Rongsheng did not disclose EBIT, so the 0.7% figure does not represent the full top-10 cohort; moreover, business scopes and financial reporting standards vary significantly across companies. While the data may not be perfectly precise, the disparity is real and unmistakable: the world’s largest chemical enterprises are not the ones best at converting revenue into profit. BASF exemplifies this perfectly: in 2025, its sales hit $70.004 billion—ranked #1 globally—yet its operating profit was only $1.917 billion. Shin-Etsu Chemical, by comparison, posted $16.413 billion in sales—less than one-quarter of BASF’s—but achieved $4.05 billion in operating profit—more than double BASF’s. BASF is bigger; Shin-Etsu is more profitable. The two companies operate fundamentally different businesses—differing in asset intensity, cyclical exposure, customer relationships, and pricing power. Sales figures reflect size alone—not strength.

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