2018.03.2919:23:00UTC+00BRASKEM: Company Plans To Invest R$ 2.872 Billion In 2018, Mainly In Brazil

Braskem plans to invest R$ 2.872 billion (US$ 864.07 million) this year. The company will allocate R$ 183 million to improve its operations in the United States and Europe, and R$ 1.804 billion to maintenance investments, health, safety & environment, productivity and operational efficiency of its Brazilian units. Brazil's Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas

Investments in the Brazilian operations include disbursements with the scheduled shutdown of one of the two main production lines of the Triunfo plant in the Rio Grande do Sul.

Braskem also said that the remaining amount would be channeled to strategic projects, including those already approved in June 2017 by the board of directors, for the construction of a new polypropylene production plant with a capacity of 450 thousand tons in Texas, United States.

On April 30, the ordinary general meeting of shareholders is expected to evaluate the proposal for the additional distribution of R$ 1.5 billion of dividends related to the results of the 2017 fiscal year, when in December R$ 1 billion was distributed in advance. The total amount is in line with the percentage historically distributed by the company.