Reuters ahead on Dow Chemical-Saudi Aramco's $20 bln joint venture

Reuters was five days ahead on the news that Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco had formalized their long-discussed $20 billion joint venture to build one of the worlds largest chemical plants. The JV, which is expected to bring Dow $500 million in equity earnings annually, will substantially boost the companys business in Asia and Africa, and help it better compete with BASF, the worlds largest chemical maker. Reuters also exclusively reported on July 20 that the JV is currently bidding for several contractors, and that South Koreas Daelim Industrial had submitted the lowest bid. Competitors such as Dow Jones and Bloomberg did not have any news on this JV until it was announced on July 25.