CELANESE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued) determined that it will primarily be subject to the IETU in future periods, and as such it has recorded tax expense of approximately $20 million in 2007 for the deferred tax effects of the new IETU system.
As of December 31, 2007, the Company had US federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $206 million which will begin to expire in 2023.
Of this amount, $47 million relates to the pre-acquisition period and is subject to limitation.
The remaining $159 million is subject to limitation as a result of the change in stock ownership in May 2006.
This limitation is not expected to have a material impact on utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards.
The Company also had foreign net operating loss carryforwards as of December 31, 2007 of approximately $564 million for Canada, Germany, Mexico and other foreign jurisdictions with various expiration dates.
Net operating losses in Canada have various carryforward periods and began expiring in 2007.
Net operating losses in Germany have no expiration date.
Net operating losses in Mexico have a ten year carryforward period and begin to expire in 2009.
However, these losses are not available for use under the new IETU tax regulations in Mexico.
As the IETU is the primary system upon which the Company will be subject to tax in future periods, no deferred tax asset has been reflected in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2007 for these income tax loss carryforwards.
The Company adopted the provisions of FIN 48 effective January 1, 2007.
FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for income taxes by prescribing a minimum recognition threshold a tax benefit is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements.
FIN 48 also provides guidance on derecognition, measurement, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition.
As a result of the implementation of FIN 48, the Company increased Retained earnings by $14 million and decreased Goodwill by $2 million.
In addition, certain tax liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits, as well as related potential penalties and interest, were reclassified from current liabilities to long-term liabilities.
Liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2007 relate to various US and foreign jurisdictions.
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:
## Table 0 ##
Included in the unrecognized tax benefits of $200 million as of December 31, 2007 is $56 million of tax benefits that, if recognized, would reduce the Company’s effective tax rate.
The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income taxes.
As of December 31, 2007, the Company has recorded a liability of approximately $36 million for interest and penalties.
This amount includes an increase of approximately $13 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.
The Company operates in the United States (including multiple state jurisdictions), Germany and approximately 40 other foreign jurisdictions including Canada, China, France, Mexico and Singapore.
Examinations are ongoing in a number of those jurisdictions including, most significantly, in Germany for the years 2001 to 2004.
During the quarter ended March 31, 2007, the Company received final assessments in Germany for the prior examination period, 1997 to 2000.
The effective settlement of those examinations resulted in a reduction to Goodwill of approximately $42 million with a net expected cash outlay of $29 million.
The Company’s
Formaldehyde and formaldehyde derivative products are derivatives of methanol and are made up of the following products: ?
Formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, and formcels are primarily used to produce adhesive resins for plywood, particle board, coatings, POM engineering resins and a compound used in making polyurethane; ?
Amines such as methyl amines, monisopropynol amines and butyl amines are used in agrochemicals, herbicides and the treatment of rubber and water; and ?
Special solvents, such as crotonaldehyde, which are used by the Nutrinova business line for the production of sorbates, as well as raw materials for the fragrance and food ingredients industry.
Solvents and derivatives are commodity products characterized by cyclicality in pricing.
The principal raw materials used in the solvents and derivatives business line are acetic acid, various alcohols, methanol, propylene, ethylene, and ammonia.
We manufacture many of these raw materials for our own use as well as for sales to third parties, including our competitors in the solvents and derivatives business.
We purchase propylene and ethylene from a variety of sources.
We manufacture acetaldehyde in Europe for our own use, as well as for sale to third parties.
Sales from the acetyls products line amounted to approximately 34%, 33% and 32% of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.
Sales from the solvents and derivatives products line amounted to approximately 12%, 13% and 14% of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.
Facilities Acetyl Intermediates has production sites in the United States, China, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Germany.
We also participate in a venture in Saudi Arabia that produces methanol and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (“MTBE”).
Over the last few years, we have continued to shift our production capacity to lower cost production facilities while expanding in growth markets, such as China.
Markets The following table illustrates net sales by destination of the Acetyl Intermediates segment by geographic region for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005.
Net Sales to External Customers by Destination — Acetyl Intermediates
## Table 1 ##
Acetyl Intermediates markets its products both directly to customers and through distributors.
Acetic acid, VAM and acetic anhydride are global businesses which have several large customers.
Generally, we supply these global customers under multi-year contracts.
The customers of acetic acid, VAM and acetic anhydride produce polymers used in water-based paints, adhesives, paper coatings, polyesters, film modifiers, pharmaceuticals, cellulose acetate and textiles.
We have long-standing relationships with most of these customers.
Solvents and derivatives are sold to a diverse group of regional and multinational customers both under multiyear contracts and on the basis of long-standing relationships.
The customers of solvents and derivatives are
primarily engaged in the production of paints, coatings and adhesives.
We manufacture formaldehyde for our own use as well as for sale to a few regional customers that include manufacturers in the wood products and chemical derivatives industries.
The sale of formaldehyde is based on both long and short term agreements.
Specialty solvents and amines are sold globally to a wide variety of customers, primarily in the coatings and resins and the specialty products industries.
These products serve global markets in the synthetic lubricant, agrochemical, rubber processing and other specialty chemical areas.
Competition Our principal competitors in the Acetyl Intermediates segment include Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. , Atofina S. A. , BASF, Borden Chemical, Inc. , British Petroleum PLC, Chang Chun Petrochemical Co. , Ltd. , Daicel, Dow, Eastman, DuPont, Lyondell Bassel Industries, Nippon Gohsei, Perstorp Inc. , Rohm & Haas Company, Jiangsu Sopo Corporation (Group) Ltd. , Showa Denko K. K. , and Kuraray Co.  Ltd.  OTHER ACTIVITIES Other Activities primarily consists of corporate center costs, including financing and administrative activities such as legal, accounting and treasury functions, interest income or expense associated with our financing activities, and the captive insurance companies.
Our two wholly-owned captive insurance companies are a key component of our global risk management program, as well as a form of self insurance for our property, liability and workers compensation risks.
The captive insurance companies issue insurance policies to our subsidiaries to provide consistent coverage amid fluctuating costs in the insurance market and to lower long-term insurance costs by avoiding or reducing commercial carrier overhead and regulatory fees.
The captive insurance companies issue insurance policies and coordinate claims-handling services with third-party service providers.
They retain risk at levels approved by management and obtain reinsurance coverage from third parties to limit the net risk retained.
One of the captive insurance companies also insures certain third-party risks.
Investments We have a significant portfolio of strategic investments, including a number of ventures, in Asia, North America and Europe.
In aggregate, these strategic investments enjoy significant sales, earnings and cash flow.
We have entered into these strategic investments in order to gain access to local markets, minimize costs and accelerate growth in areas we believe have significant future business potential.
See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.
The table below represents our significant ventures as of December 31, 2007:
## Table 2 ##

<table><tr><td></td><td>Year Ended December 31, 2007 (In $ millions)</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of January 1, 2007</td><td>193</td></tr><tr><td>Increases in tax positions for the current year</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Increases in tax positions for prior years</td><td>28</td></tr><tr><td>Decreases in tax positions of prior years</td><td>-21</td></tr><tr><td>Settlements</td><td>-2</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2007</td><td>200</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="6"> Year Ended</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">December 31, 2007</td><td colspan="2">December 31, 2006</td><td colspan="2"> December 31,   2005</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>% of</td><td></td><td>% of</td><td></td><td> % of </td></tr><tr><td></td><td> $</td><td>Segment</td><td> $</td><td>Segment</td><td> $</td><td> Segment</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="6"> (In millions, except percentages)</td></tr><tr><td>North America</td><td>685</td><td>23%</td><td>685</td><td>26%</td><td>771</td><td>31%</td></tr><tr><td>Europe/Africa</td><td>1,183</td><td>40%</td><td>1,076</td><td>40%</td><td>811</td><td>33%</td></tr><tr><td>Asia/Australia</td><td>946</td><td>32%</td><td>789</td><td>29%</td><td>722</td><td>30%</td></tr><tr><td>Rest of World</td><td>141</td><td>5%</td><td>134</td><td>5%</td><td>147</td><td>6%</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td> Name</td><td> Location</td><td> Ownership</td><td> Segment</td><td> Partner(s)</td><td> Year Entered</td></tr><tr><td> Equity Investments</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>KEPCO</td><td>South Korea</td><td>50%</td><td>Advanced Engineered Materials</td><td>Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.</td><td>1999</td></tr><tr><td>Polyplastics Co., Ltd.</td><td>Japan</td><td>45%</td><td>Advanced Engineered Materials</td><td>Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd.</td><td>1964</td></tr><tr><td>Fortron Industries LLC</td><td>US</td><td>50%</td><td>Advanced Engineered Materials</td><td>Kureha Corporation</td><td>1992</td></tr><tr><td> Cost Investments</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>National Methanol Co.</td><td>Saudi Arabia</td><td>25%</td><td>Acetyl Intermediates</td><td>Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (“SABIC”)/ CTE Petrochemicals</td><td>1981</td></tr><tr><td>Kunming Cellulose Fibers Co. Ltd.</td><td>China</td><td>30%</td><td>Consumer Specialties</td><td>China National Tobacco Corp.</td><td>1993</td></tr><tr><td>Nantong Cellulose Fibers Co. Ltd.</td><td>China</td><td>31%</td><td>Consumer Specialties</td><td>China National Tobacco Corp.</td><td>1986</td></tr><tr><td>Zhuhai Cellulose Fibers Co. Ltd.</td><td>China</td><td>30%</td><td>Consumer Specialties</td><td>China National Tobacco Corp.</td><td>1993</td></tr></table>

Question: in 2007 what was the percentage change in the account balance of unrecognized tax benefits based on the reconciliation at december 31 .
Answer: 9.36269