FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 22, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on German-based chemicals producer BASF AG (AA-/Negative/A-1+) are unaffected by the group's announcement that, over the next two years, it will substantially increase its share buybacks to €3,000 million from €500 million and raise its dividend per share to €3 from €2, resulting in a total dividend payment of about €1.5 billion. BASF's operating cash flow generation in 2006 was above Standard&Poor's expectations. In addition, we expect good economic conditions in the coming years, a well-balanced supply/demand for petrochemicals, and recently integrated assets, like BASF Catalysts and Degussa's construction chemicals, to support cash flow generation in 2007 and 2008. However,
