BASF Added to Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Index, Signifying Product Compliance with Shari'ah Law

DUBAI, UAE, December 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• The listing underlines BASF's commitment to growth in the Middle East

BASF, The Chemical Company, is now listed on the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index (DJIM). The listing places the company into a global universe of investable equities that have been screened for Shari'ah compliance consistent with Dow Jones Indexes' methodology. The listing underlines BASF's commitment to growth in the Middle East region, where it has expanded its presence significantly over the last decade and has recently made significant long term investments in manufacturing infrastructure.

     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20111207/498572 )

Harald Kroll, Managing Director of BASF FZE said: "The Middle East region is growing at an immense pace. BASF has had a presence in this geography for over three decades. In the last five to 10 years, we have expanded our management, sales and manufacturing presence as well as our partner and client base significantly across a number of product segments and countries in the region. Most recently, we have broken ground at a site at Bahrain International Investment Park where we will construct a world class multi-million dollar plastic additives facility.

The DJIM listing is a welcome recognition of not just the strength of our brand in the region and the interest of Shari'ah-compliant investors, but of our philosophy to abide by the highest ethical standards in all our dealings, and respect the cultural mores of our customers in every geography that we enter."

The listing of BASF on the DJIM followed a regular quarterly review of the index in September 2011 when a total of 130 stocks were added to the DJIM World Index, and 103 others deleted. This increased the number of components in the index to 2,618 from 2,591, and increased the free-float market capitalisation of the reconstituted DJIM World Index from $12.6 trillion to $12.8 trillion. There are currently more than 125 licensees with more than $5 billion in assets benchmarked to the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes.

About BASF

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of about €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at http://www.basf.com or in its Social Media Newsroom at newsroom.basf.com.

Karen Gallacher Smythe
Telephone: +971-50-459-4713
[email protected]
 
BASF FZE
PO Box 61309, Dubai
United Arab Emirates
http://www.basf.com

SOURCE BASF - The Chemical Company