September 22, 2010
Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp.



Update of AN and MMA project in Thailand
 
The recent situation regarding the acrylonitrile (AN) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) plants currently being constructed at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong Province, Thailand, by PTT Asahi Chemical Co., Ltd.-a joint venture between Asahi Kasei Chemicals, PTT Public Company Limited, and Marubeni Corp.-is as described below.

On September 2, 2010, Thailand's Central Administrative Court issued a verdict on environmental litigation, which had been ongoing since June 2009, with regard to industrial projects at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. The essentials of the verdict are as follows.
 
 
  1. Approval is cancelled for all projects which are regulated as "Projects which may cause serious effects on the local environment, natural resources, or the health of residents" in a proclamation issued by the Thai government, and which also have not completed environmental and health impact assessments as required by the Constitution of Thailand.
  2. As of the date of the verdict, the temporary suspension order is cancelled for all projects not subject to the cancellation of approval.
 
In relation to the abovementioned verdict, PTT Asahi Chemical received an official document from the relevant governmental authorities in Thailand declaring that our AN and MMA project is not considered to be one which would cause harmful effects on the environment or human health, and is therefore exempted from the suspension order. As such, we understand that our project is no longer subject to the suspension order as of September 2, 2010.

As the construction plan for our AN and MMA project was amended due to this environmental litigation, the timing for start-up has been revised from the initial plan of year-end 2010 to mid-year 2011.
 
Outline of plants under construction
 
Location: Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong Province, Thailand
Capacity: 200,000 tons/year at the AN plant
70,000 tons/year at the MMA plant
 
Profile of PTT Asahi Chemical
 
President: Soichiro Hashizume
Establishment: August 2006
Location: Map Ta Phut, Rayong Province, Thailand
Shareholding: 48.5% by Asahi Kasei Chemicals
48.5% by PTT
3.0% by Marubeni
   
 
   
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