Celanese Selects BOC Group as Major Supplier to Clear Lake Plant.

Business Editors

KRONBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2003

Celanese Chemicals (CZZ: FSE; CZ: NYSE) today announced that it has selected the multinational BOC Group, based in the United Kingdom, to fill a significant portion of the industrial gases requirements for the Celanese acetic acid plant in Clear Lake, Texas. As part of the agreement, Celanese will sell its Clear Lake carbon monoxide unit to BOC.

"This is an excellent agreement for Celanese," said John O'Dwyer, vice president and general manager, Acetyls. "We will continue to have two sources of carbon monoxide for our Clear Lake site. At the same time, we will benefit from BOC's operating expertise in the supply of industrial gases. This will result in continued reliability, along with an expected decrease in raw material costs. BOC also will bring the capability to expand the unit in the future, allowing Celanese to continue to grow in acetic acid."

The Celanese Clear Lake facility also includes a world-scale vinyl acetate monomer plant and the world's largest acetic acid unit. Celanese will continue to purchase a significant share of its CO supplies for the Clear Lake facility from additional sources.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Celanese AG is a global chemicals company with leading positions in its key products and world class process technology. The Celanese portfolio consists of five main businesses: Acetyl Products, Intermediates, Acetate Products, Technical Polymers Ticona and Performance Products.

Celanese generated sales of around (euro) 5.1 billion in 2001 and has about 11,000 employees. The company has 29 production plants and five research centers in 11 countries mainly in North America, Europe and Asia. Celanese AG shares are listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange (stock exchange symbol CZZ) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol CZ).

For further information please visit our website (www.celanese.com)

Forward-looking statements: Forward-looking statements: Any statements contained in this report that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate", "believe," "estimate," "intend," "may," "will," "expect," "plan" and "project" and similar expressions as they relate to Celanese or its management are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements in this report are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Important factors include, among others, changes in general economic, business and political conditions, fluctuating exchange rates, the length and depth of product and industry business cycles, changes in the price and availability of raw materials, actions which may be taken by competitors, application of new or changed accounting standards or other government agency regulations, changes in the degree of patent and other legal protection afforded to Celanese's products, potential disruption or interruption of production due to accidents or other unforeseen events, delays in the construction of facilities, potential liability for remedial actions under existing or future environmental regulations and potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation, and other factors discussed above. Many of the factors are macroeconomic in nature and are therefore beyond the control of management. The factors that could affect Celanese's future financial results are discussed more fully in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including its Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 7, 2002. Celanese AG does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.