U.S. Magazine names BASF the World’s Most Admired Chemical Company

* Fortune publishes the results of the “World’s Most Admired Companies 2010”

Ludwigshafen , Germany - BASF is the world’s most admired chemical company according to a survey carried out by the U.S. business magazine Fortune. The full results of the survey are published in the current edition, which goes on sale on Monday, March 8.



In the 2010 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies,” BASF has once again been ranked the top company in the chemical industry. Industry experts voted BASF into top position in the chemical industry in the categories of product and service quality, global competitiveness, and quality of management. In addition, for all industries, BASF is ranked number two in Germany. “To once again be awarded as the world’s most admired chemical company is encouraging and a welcome recognition of our efforts. Even in difficult times, we continue to actively shape our future,” said BASF’s Chairman Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht.



For the survey, Fortune and its partner Hay Group selected approximately 700 companies worldwide, which were then ranked by more than 4,000 directors, executives and managers in the respective industries.



Further information about the survey can be found on the Internet at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2010.



Note to editors:

You can download a photo from the BASF homepage at www.basf.com/pressphoto-database , key word: “BASF SE,” search term: “Fortune.”



About BASF

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as 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 more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000employees 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 www.basf.com.