GBI announced today that the membership of the core group of companies has been joined by A.P.Moller Maersk (Maersk Group), BASF and Syngenta, making a significant addition to the industry and sectoral diversity of the group. Maersk Group is a worldwide conglomerate operating in around 130 countries with a workforce of some 108,000 employees. In addition to owning one of the world’s largest shipping companies, Maersk involved in a wide range of activities in the energy, logistics, retail and manufacturing industries (see http://www.maersk.com for further details). BASF’s portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. The company has more than 111,000 employees worldwide (see http://www.basf.com for further details). Syngenta is a global agribusiness company headquarted in Basel, Switzerland. It has a large number of Research and Development facilities and Production sites all over the world, with more than 26,000 employees in some 90 countries (see http://www.syngenta.com for further details).