core sector communique

Linde to supply air gases to Chinese chemicals producer Dahua Group in Dalian

• Contract covers purchase of existing air separation units and construction of an additional unit

• Total investment worth around EUR 70 million

• Deal strengthens Linde’s position in China

Munich, 13 March 2012 – The technology group The Linde Group has been selected to supply air gases to chemicals producer Dahua Group on Songmu Island in Dalian, Northeast China. Linde will be investing around EUR 70 million in the project. An agreement outlining the terms of the deal was recently signed by both parties. Dahua Group belongs to the country’s leading top 10 soda ash producers.

“We are delighted to further expand our long-term business relationship with our partner Dahua in Dalian,” said Sanjiv Lamba, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG responsible for Asia. “This move strengthens our position as a leading gases and engineering company in the dynamic Chinese market.”

Under the terms of this on-site agreement, Linde acquires the customer’s two existing air separation units (ASUs) in Dalian, and will operate these. In addition, Linde’s Engineering Division will build a new ASU on site with a production capacity of 38,000 normal cubic metres of oxygen per hour (Nm3/h).

Scheduled to go on stream in 2014, the new ASU will replace the two older plants, also meeting rising demand for gaseous oxygen at Dahua’s operations. The new arrangement gives the customer a much greater degree of reliability in its gas supply. The new ASU will also produce surplus liquid gases for the regional market.

As part of the contract agreement, the upgraded gas production facility will be jointly managed by a newly formed 50:50 joint venture gases company between Linde and Dahua. Linde-Dahua (Dalian) Gases Company, Ltd. will as well offer industrial gaseous and liquid products and provide relevant engineering services to the neighbouring industrial hubs.

Dahua Group is wholly owned by Dalian State Assets Administration Committee, with 33 subsidiaries in China. Set up in 1933, it is the earliest and today one the biggest basic chemical material and fertilizer producers in China.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,500 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2011 financial year, it achieved sales of EUR 13.787 bn. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The Group is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

In Greater China, Linde has close to 4,000 employees working in around 50 subsidiaries and joint ventures, and 150 operational plants in major industrial hubs across the region. Linde Greater China is headquartered in Shanghai.