Asahi Kasei Announces Commercial Start-up of Propane-process Acrylonitrile Line

JCN Newswires, Feb 3, 2007

Tokyo, Japan, Feb 2, 2007 - (JCN Newswire) - Asahi Kasei Corporation (TSE:3407) has announced that Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (AKC), a full subsidiary, has begun commercial operation of the world's first propane process for acrylonitrile (AN) production, with the start-up and validation of a propane-process line at the Ulsan Plant of its Korean subsidiary Tongsuh Petrochemical Corp. An existing 70,000 ton/year AN line was modified to use the propane process. Production began on January 20.

As a key element of its Growth Action - 2010 mid-range corporate initiative, the Asahi Kasei Group has marked its AN business for strategic global expansion, especially in rapidly growing Asian markets. In an environment of continuously high prices for petroleum and its derivatives, the propane process for AN is a significant breakthrough in that it enables the use of gas-derived feed, thereby reducing dependence on feedstocks whose prices are linked to the oil price.

Commercial validation of the propane process will serve to strengthen the operational base, providing a new option for competitive AN production, and is an important milestone in the advancement of a plan by AKC to build a large-scale propane-process AN plant in Thailand, in a joint venture with PTT Plc.

About Tongsuh Petrochemical

President:           Lee Kyun Chul
Establishment:       1969
Paid-in capital:     50.6 billion won
Shareholding:        100% by Asahi Kasei Corp.
Net sales:           357.8 billion won (2005)
Head office:         154 Bugok-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, Korea
Main products:       AN, acrylamide, sodium cyanide,
                     ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)
AN production lines: 70,000 ton/year line converted to propane process
                     230,000 ton/year line

About Asahi Kasei Corp.

Asahi Kasei provides innovative solutions based in chemistry and materials science to a diverse range of markets including fibers, chemicals, consumer products, housing, construction, electronics, and health care. With consolidated sales of some US$10 billion, it is a Fortune Global 500 enterprise with twenty-five thousand employees and one hundred consolidated subsidiaries. The operating configuration comprises seven core operating companies as autonomous business units specialized in separate business fields. Asahi Kasei Corporation, as the parent company, functions as a holding company for group operations. An Independent Businesses Group provides group services. For more information, please visit www.asahi-kasei.co.jp.

Source: Asahi Kasei Corp.

Contact:

Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation
Intermediate Products Division 1
Phone:  81-3-3507-2280
Fax:  81-3-3507-2417

Asahi Kasei Corporation
Corporate Communications
Phone:  81-3-3507-2060
Fax:  81-3-3507-2495

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