Deloitte & Touche announced the “2017 global chemical industry M & A Outlook” report shows that 2017 global chemical industry M & A activity is expected to maintain growth, but due to protectionist and other geopolitical factors, this year’s M & A activity or can not reach the industry in 2015 and 2016 record of history.

The report shows that the level of cash flow in the corporate balance sheet is high, the level of innovation is low, and the macroeconomic growth outlook is in the doldrums, all of which may be the factors driving the growth of M & A transactions. Natural gas and lower oil prices will also promote the development of petrochemical industry M & A activities. At the same time, mergers and acquisitions in fertilizer and agrochemicals, industrial gases, and multivariate chemical market segments are expected to grow strongly, expanding their size by acquiring diversified technology solutions.

Ultra-large transactions worth more than $ 1 billion have become more common, accounting for 41 more cases over the past three years, compared to 2011 to 2013. It is expected that 2017 M & A activities will focus on innovation and digital development. As valuations soar, companies will be more dependent on sales growth and synergies, mitigating the impact of increased transaction costs.

There are industry sources said that companies are increasingly focusing on the ability to acquire technology and set up an enterprise venture capital sector to provide more support for new investment activities. Digital technology in the global scope to be more widely used, and further promote the development of M & A activities. These global trends are expected to promote the chemical industry to move forward, and give birth to more M & A transactions

Four Russian government officials said on Tuesday (July 4) that Russia would like to adhere to the current Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreement and will be opposed to any further cuts at the OPEC ministerial meeting later this month.

One source said that the implementation of further supply cuts soon after the extension of the existing agreement would send the wrong message to the oil market. At the same time, the move would suggest that OPEC, Russia and its allies are nervous about the lack of an existing production agreement to support oil prices.

Russia plans to hold a meeting with some OPEC ministers and several non-OPEC ministers in St. Petersburg on 24 July to discuss the process of eliminating global oversupply.

As US shale oil production picks up, concerns about the success of oil-producing countries are heating up. Although Brent crude has rebounded from a seven-month low hit in June, analysts including the Goldman Sachs Group said oil producers needed further cuts.

Russia’s oil producers (including state-owned and non-state) have voluntarily reduced their production by about 30 million barrels per day to support oil prices after the record of the post-Soviet era in October 2016. Russian energy minister Alexander Novak agreed in May 2017 to extend the yielding agreement to the end of the first quarter of 2018.

But another source said the Russian government was partly opposed to further cuts and extended the agreement, and that the longer the duration of the production, the worse the volatility of the producers after the agreement was over.

However, although Russia is clearly opposed to further cuts, but Tuesday (July 4) crude oil market was flat, partly because the United States Independence Day off the flow of light, and the decline in US production to bring the optimism still exists. Tuesday (July 4) US WTI crude oil futures closed up 0.02 percent at $ 47.08 a barrel; Brent crude futures ended at $ 49.68 a barrel.