BASF and SINOPEC Joint Venture Officially Starts

On September 28, 2005, BASF and SINOPEC announced the official opening of their Verbund site in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. The new Verbund site is being run by BASF-YPC Co. Ltd. and is the largest petrochemical project between SINOPEC and a foreign company, with a total investment of US$2.9 billion.      Due to the smooth and successful start-up, BASF and SINOPEC will invest in additional downstream plants and in the expansion of the steam cracker at their joint venture site in Nanjing to further strengthen the Verbund synergies. Further details on the timing of the expansion and on the capacities of the additional plants will be disclosed soon.     Both partners expressed their satisfaction with the development of BASF-YPC Co. Ltd. The joint venture has been operating commercially since June 2005. The expansion plans highlight the success of the joint venture and the good partnership. (CCR2005 No.20)