For Immediate Release
January 21, 2004

Sumitomo Chemical Merges Agrochemical Subsidiaries〜Generating Synergies with Sumika Takeda〜
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. announced today that Sumika-Takeda Agro Manufacturing Co., Ltd.,an agrochemical-formulating subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd. (SCT), will
merge with agrochemical manufacturer Seibu Kasei Co., Ltd. to form Sumika Agro ManufacturingCo., Ltd. Both SCT and Seibu Kasei are subsidiaries of Sumitomo Chemical.
Further, in agrochemical business for non-farming areas, SCT subsidiary Kaiwaryokuka Co., Ltd.
will merge with Sumitomo Chemical subsidiary Nihon Green & Garden Corp. The new company
will retain the name Nihon Green & Garden Corp.
Both of the new entities will commence operations in April 2004.
Sumitomo Chemical has identified agricultural chemicals as one of its core business areas, andhas been expanding and strengthening its businesses in this field through aggressive businessacquisitions and alliances with other firms. SCT took over the agrochemical business of Takeda
Chemical Industries, Ltd. in November 2002, and has been steadily developing and strengthening
its business together with SCT subsidiaries Sumika-Takeda Garden Products Co., Ltd.,
Sumika-Takeda Agro Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and Kaiwaryokuka Co., Ltd. Sumitomo Chemicalplans to completely merge its agricultural chemicals business with SCT in 2007, and is moving
forward with preparations such as consolidation of marketing channels. In the meantime, theCompany will continue building the optimal framework for its agrochemical business group, in orderto generate synergies as soon as possible. The current realignment among subsidiaries is an
important step toward achieving that goal.

By fusing the agrochemical formulating technologies of the merging companies, Sumika Agro
Manufacturing will benefit from both stronger technological capabilities as well as improved
productivity. Furthermore, in addition to realizing cost savings by optimally arranging production
among its plants, Sumika Agro Manufacturing will become more competitive by pursuing lower
material procurement costs and greater efficiency in administrative departments. The company
will also do some formulation on commission from other companies.

Nihon Green & Garden Corp. will combine the marketing prowess and product development
capabilities of the two merging companies, and solidify an integrated process from commercial
product development to marketing and contract pest and disease control. The company will
become more competitive by expanding businesses across non-farming areas, such as in plant
protection chemicals for golf courses and herbicides for railroad use, while at the same time
pursuing greater efficiency in administrative departments.

In addition, Sumitomo Chemical and SCT are making strides in establishing systems for optimal
performance in sales, research, and manufacturing. In sales, the two companies have locatedtheir domestic sales offices in close proximity and are carrying out sales personnel exchanges foroverseas businesses, making effective use of the sales force, trust and operating base they havebuilt up. They will also unite their business agendas and begin full-scale marketing efforts as agroup. This will increase marketing efficiency, ready a system to answer the diverse needs offarmers, and expand business. In research, SCT’s Agricultural Research Laboratory (Tsukuba,Ibaraki, Japan) will be relocated inside Sumitomo Chemical’s Agricultural Chemicals ResearchLaboratory (Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan) in October of this year, enabling smoother exchange of
information, efficient use of research resources, and a stronger R&D platform.

Further, thecompanies are considering gradually transferring production of agrochemical active ingredientscurrently manufactured at STC’s Hikari Plant (Hikari, Yamaguchi, Japan) to production at
Sumitomo Chemical’s Oita Works (Oita, Japan), and pursuing greater efficiency in the active
ingredients production.
Sumitomo Chemical is thus pursuing measures to maximize the results of its strategic M&As so far,including taking steps to realize synergies with STC, and will strengthen its agrochemical businessto be a high-return segment that will thrive in global competition.

< Overview of the Mergers >Sumika Agro Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Locations:
Head Office:Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi, Japan(current Sumika-Takeda Agro Manufacturing Head Office)Plants:Kudamatsu; Koriyama, Fukushima; Shobara, Hiroshima(the new company will take over existing plants)
Capital:
495 million yen
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd.
89.52％
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
9.43％
Shokozan Mine
1.05％
Nihon Green & Garden Corp.
Head Office:Tokyo, Japan (current Nihon Green & Garden Head Office)Capital:95 million yen
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
48.72％
Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.
26.23％
Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd.
25.05％< Overview of Merging Companies >Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd.
Head Office:Tokyo, Japan
Began Ops:
November 2002
Net Sales:
29.2 billion yen (FY2003 forecast)
Employees:
290
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.

60%
40%

Sumika-Takeda Agro Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Head Office:Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi, Japan
Established:
November 1973
Net Sales:
3 billion yen (FY2003 forecast)
Employees:
100
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd.

100％

Seibu Kasei Co., Ltd.
Head Office:Shobara, Hiroshima, Japan
Established:
August 1968
Net Sales:
1.2 billion yen (FY2003 forecast)
Employees:
60
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Shokozan Mine

90％
10％

Nihon Green & Garden Corp.
Head Office:Tokyo, Japan
Established:
October 2001
Net Sales:
3.8 billion yen (FY2003 forecast)
Employees:
30
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd.
Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.

65％
35％

Kaiwaryokuka Co., Ltd.
Head Office:Tokyo, JapanEstablished:
April 1978
Net Sales:
0.8 billion yen (FY2003 forecast)
Employees:
30
Shareholders: Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Co., Ltd.

100％