CheMatch.com Adds New Products to its Bulk Commodity Chemical Trading Exchange.

Business/Energy Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 23, 1999

Leading Chemical Exchange Ends Year With Record Quarter

for Trading, New Products

CheMatch.com, a global Internet exchange and information resource for bulk commodity chemicals, plastics and fuel products, announced that CheMatch.com participants may now trade cumene, phenol and acetone on the exchange. The company also reports that it will close a record fourth quarter for activity on the exchange with $26,415,000 (641,000 barrels) transacted on the system to date.

Phenol, cumene and acetone correspond to the aromatics segment of the bulk commodity chemical market. Cumene is used in the manufacture of phenol, which in turn is used in adhesive resins, plastics and agricultural products. Uses for acetone are as a solvent and as a major constituent of acrylic plastics.

Although the chemical industry is estimated to be the world's third largest and one of the most heavily traded worldwide, it has been fragmented and information on pricing has been limited. CheMatch.com creates a pure market where buyers and sellers benefit from unprecedented market data, price transparency and access to a global pool of product, unfettered by boundaries of space and time. CheMatch.com is focused on the bulk commodity chemicals, plastics and fuel products segment of the market. More than 70 of the world's leading chemical companies are represented on the exchange, which has an average transaction value of $530,000.

About CheMatch.com

CheMatch.com (www.chematch.com) is a global Internet exchange and information resource for buying and selling bulk commodity chemicals, plastics and fuel products. CheMatch.com companies have served the chemical industry since 1995.