Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, is pleased to announce expansion of its polyacetal (POM) manufacturing footprint in Asia to support its customers.

As part of its growth strategy, Celanese today announces continued investment in, and expansion of, its joint venture agreements with Polyplastics in Malaysia, Korea Engineering Plastics (KEP) in Korea, and SABIC in Saudi Arabia. These agreements will deliver key POM grades produced exclusively for Celanese customers in the Asia region, as follows:

• Joint venture partner Polyplastics Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd will increase Celanese’s manufacturing footprint in Malaysia for POM production at the plant in Kuantan, Pahang. The agreement with Polyplastics will expand the capacity at this facility, with construction to be completed in December 2013, and its operation expected to start in early 2014.

• Joint venture partner Korea Engineering Plastics is expanding its agreement with Celanese to provide POM grades at the Kepital POM facility in Ulsan, Korea. The agreement with KEP will expand the capacity at this facility and will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2013.

• Celanese is also pleased to announce progress in the construction of the POM plant in Saudi Arabia with its affiliate Ibn Sina. Recently, the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract was awarded to Dragados Industrial, S.A.

“The expansion of these joint venture agreements is a clear sign that Celanese is committed to meeting the growing needs of our customers in the Asia region,” said Phil McDivitt, vice president and general manager of the Celanese engineered materials business. “We expect our position as a direct producer, distributer and marketer of polyacetal materials to grow in the Asia region with each of these joint venture agreements. These developments will also enable Celanese to use the full breadth of our chemistry, technology and product expertise to create value for our customers.”

“Our partnerships with Polyplastics, KEP, and Ibn Sina are part of our strategy to provide a high quality, diverse portfolio of polyacetal products to our global customers with optimum lead times in their respective regions. We also continue to grow our commercial, application development and technical resources in Asia. The enhanced capacity and growing resources will enable Celanese customers to speed up their translation efforts in key transportation, consumer and industrial applications in Asia,” said Isaac Khalil, global business director, Celcon®/Hostaform® POM product line, Celanese engineered materials business.