October 2007

Sumitomo Chemical to Expand Liquid Crystal Polymers
Production

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. has announced that it will expand neat resin
production capacity for its liquid crystal polymer (LCP below), Sumikasuper LCP,
from an annual 7,000 tons to 9,200 tons and will also build a new facility in China
for the production of LCP compounds.

LCP is a super engineering plastic that exhibits excellent heat resistance andthin-wall flowability, and these characteristics are used to advantage in various
electronics components. Among these, demand for Sumikasuper LCP is seeing highgrowth for connectors used in laptop computers and mobile phones, and withdemands for lighter weight and miniaturization, is increasingly replacing plastics
that have conventionally been used. In addition, demand is increasing inapplications for such electronics components as LCD backlights bobbins and optical
pickup bobbins, automotive relays, and laser printer heater holders, and new uses
are also increasing for other automotive components and LEDs.
Last year, Sumitomo Chemical expanded production capacity of neat resin for
LCP at its Ehime Works, bringing the entire Sumitomo Chemical Group’s
production capabilities to an annual 7,000 tons. In order to meet the further
increase in demand, Group company Taoka Chemical Co., Ltd., which supplies neat
resin to Sumitomo Chemical under contract manufacture, will expand its
production facility, and Sumika Electronic Materials (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. in China will
construct new facilities for the production of neat resin and compounds. Completionof these facilities will bring the Group’s capacity for neat resin to 9,200 tons
annually, which converts to approximately 14,000 tons of compounds, equivalent to30% of the projected 2009 global demand (according to Company estimates).
Many of our customers engaged in the manufacture of electronics components areestablishing manufacturing operations in China, and therefore the greatest demandfor LCP used for such components is coming from China. In addition to providing astable supply to Chinese customers from the new facilities at Sumika Electronic
Materials (Wuxi) Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Chemical opened a Customer Support Center
within the plant at Sumika Electronic Materials (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in October ofthis year to enable prompt customer support capabilities. Leveraging these businessdevelopments in China, Sumitomo Chemical will continue to further strengthen its
engineering plastics business going forward.

【Overview of Investment in New Facilities】① Taoka Chemical Co., Ltd.
・Pre-polymerization expansion for LCP neat resin (2,200 tons/yr.), completion
planned for the end of 2008
・ Advanced-polymerization expansion for LCP neat resin (500 tons/yr.),completion planned for the end of 2008
② Sumika Electronic Materials (Wuxi) Co., Ltd.
・ Advanced-polymerization expansion for LCP neat resin (1,800 tons/yr.),completion planned for Jan. 2009
・New facility for LCP compounds (2.400 tons/yr.), completion planned for Jan.
2009

＜Reference＞【Overview of Taoka Chemical Co., Ltd.】（１）Established:

October 1934（２）Headquarters:

Osaka, Japan（３）Paid-in Capital:¥1,572 million（４）Sumitomo Chemical Ownership:

50.2%（５）Details of Business:

Manufacture and sale of chemical

products,including

dyes,dyeintermediates,pharmaceuticalandagrochemical intermediates, recording materials, adhesives, plasticizers（６）Employees:

280 persons（７）President:

Toshirou Katoh【Overview of Sumika Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (Wuxi)】（１）Established:
July 2004（２）Headquarters:

Wuxi, Jiangsu, Peoples’ Republicof China（３）Paid-in Capital:

US$146 million（４）Sumitomo Chemical Ownership:

100%（５）Details of Business:

Manufacture and sale of LCD

polarizing film, light diffusion plates（６）Employees:

996 persons（７）President:

Ken’ichi Miyatake