BASF Ranked as America's Most Admired Chemical Company FORTUNE Rating by 'Jury Of Peers' Reflects North American Performance, Brand, Reputation FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BASF was ranked as the number one chemical company on FORTUNE magazine's list of America's Most Admired Companies. The company scored 7.57 on a scale of one to 10 ahead of Dow Chemical (7.35), DuPont (6.98), PPG Industries (6.87) and Bayer (6.62). To compile its America's Most Admired Companies rankings, FORTUNE and its survey partner, Hay Group, asked executives, directors, and securities analysts to rate companies with the largest revenues in 65 industries. In all, 10,000 executives, directors, and securities analysts rated the companies on eight attributes, and the average of those scores was used to compile the industry lists. FORTUNE also publishes a ranking of Global Most Admired Companies. The eight attributes are 1) Innovation, 2) People Management, 3) Financial Soundness, 4) Quality of Management, 5) Use of Corporate Assets, 6) Social Responsibility, 7) Long-term Investment, and 8) Quality of Products and Services. "We're pleased to have been recognized for our performance," said Klaus Peter Loebbe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BASF Corporation, BASF's North American affiliate. "Through our restructuring initiative, we have dramatically improved our financial results, and have over the course of the past several years made great strides in innovation, customer service and sustainable development." BASF was ranked fourth among America's chemical companies the previous year. BASF was also ranked as FORTUNE's Most Admired Chemical Company in the world and was rated the top company in Germany across all industries. BASF - The Chemical Company. We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.(R) BASF Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. We employ about 11,000 people in North America and had sales of approximately $9 billion in 2003. For more information about BASF's North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit http://www.basf.com/usa. BASF is the world's leading chemical company. Our goal is to grow profitably and further increase the value of our company. We help our customers to be more successful through intelligent system solutions and high-quality products. BASF's portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. Through new technologies we can tap into additional market opportunities. We conduct our business in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In 2003, BASF had sales of approximately $42 billion. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA), New York (BF), Paris (BA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at http://www.basf.com/. DATASOURCE: BASF CONTACT: Jack Maurer of BASF, +1-973-245-6072, Web site: http://www.basf.com/usa http://www.basf.com/

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