JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Statement issued by Sasol Limited (JSE:SOL)(NYSE:SSL) in response to an announcement by the European Commission regarding a finding of anti-competitive behaviour by Sasol Wax GmbH and other members of the European paraffin wax industry. As anticipated in several previous announcements made by Sasol Limited, the European Union found that members of the European paraffin wax industry, including Sasol Wax GmbH, formed a cartel and violated antitrust laws. A fine of EUR 318 200 000 was imposed by the European Commission on Sasol Wax GmbH (of which Sasol Wax International AG, Sasol Holding in Germany GmbH and Sasol Limited would be jointly and severally be liable for EUR 250 million). The fine is payable within three months.
As a result of Sasol's co-operation and support in the investigations, the European Commission reduced the base amount of the fine by 50% to the net amount stated above. Sasol is surprised by and does not understand the reasons for the magnitude of this fine and will be studying the reasons for the finding with a view to lodge an appeal against it. According to the statement of objections of the European Commission an infringement of antitrust laws commenced in 1992 or even earlier. In 1995 Sasol became a co-shareholder in an existing wax business located in Hamburg, Germany owned by the Schumann group. In July 2002 Sasol acquired the remaining shares in the joint venture and became the sole shareholder of the business. Sasol Limited was unaware of these infringements before the European Commission commenced their investigation at the wax business in Hamburg in April 2005. Sasol views this matter in a serious light and has intensified its competition and anti-trust law compliance programmes in all its businesses including joint ventures. It is Sasol's policy to comply with all applicable laws, including competition laws.
Sasol Investor Relations
Tel.: +27 11 441 3113 / 3563 / 3321
Transmissions made via the internet are not completely secure. As a result, while Sasol makes every effort to ensure the quality of and control over the information contained in this message, Sasol accepts no responsibility or liability for its transmission, reception, storage or ultimate use.
Sasol is an integrated oil and gas company with substantial chemical interests. Based in South Africa and operating worldwide, Sasol is listed on the NYSE and JSE stock exchanges. We are the leading provider of liquid fuels in South Africa and a major international producer of chemicals. Sasol uses proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technologies for the commercial production of synthetic fuels and chemicals from low-grade coal and natural gas. We manufacture more than 200 fuel and chemical products that are sold worldwide. In South Africa we also operate coal mines to provide feedstock for our synthetic fuels plants. Sasol operates the only inland crude oil refinery in South Africa. The group produces crude oil in offshore Gabon, supplies Mozambican natural gas to end-user customers and petrochemical plants in South Africa, and with partners involved in gas-to-liquids fuel joint ventures in Qatar and Nigeria. Internet address: http://www.sasol.com/ Disclaimer - Forward-looking statements We may in this document make statements that are not historical facts and relate to analyses and other information based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. There are forward- looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "seek", "will", "plan", "could", "may", "endeavour" and "project" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but are not exclusive means of identifying such statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there are risks that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. If one or more of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may be very different from those anticipated. The factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements are discussed more fully in our annual report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on Form20-F filed on November 21, 2007 and in other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements apply only as of the date on which they are made and Sasol does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. DATASOURCE: Sasol Limited CONTACT: Sasol Investor Relations, +27-11-441-3113, +27-11-441-3563, +27-11-441-3321, Web Site: http://www.sasol.com/
|