Showa Denko (SDK) CEO Message at Initiation Ceremony

Hideo Ichikawa, President and CEO

TOKYO, Apr 1, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - Showa Denko ("SDK"; TSE:4004) today held a ceremony for newly-hired employees. At the ceremony, Hideo Ichikawa, President and CEO, gave a message as summarized below:

Welcome to the age of change

In this January, the Showa Denko Group started its new medium-term consolidated business plan "Project 2020+." To cope with current business environment full of volatility and uncertainty, and to take full advantage of business opportunities, we must change ourselves drastically. We will change ourselves to be a corporate group that takes full advantage of its own strong points, expands business activities globally, and operates a lot of "individualized businesses" that have sustainable high-level profitability and stability.

Since all of you join this Group in the first year of the new business plan, you will find many rewarding opportunities. Please take advantage of such opportunities, and exert your full powers.

Three "pluses"

Let me show you the following three important actions I want you to think about and put into practice from now on:

1. "Shaping Ideas"The driving force behind actions to change the future is passion of each of you. Put your passion as a new working adult into your objectives, and shape your actions from these objectives.

2. Take the leadershipIn order to shape ideas, you must have vitality to embroil people around you, and take the leadership when necessary. The first step to nourish such vitality is "taking responsibility." No matter what kind of adversity lies ahead, you must have a strong will and courage to act on your own initiative, and take action.

3. Respect diversityIf you respect, accept, and take advantage of diversity, discoveries of something new and new ideas will follow. Please take good care of ties with diverse persons around you, including your superiors, seniors, colleagues, and stakeholders outside the company.

Into the ideogram "+" in the name of our new business plan "Project 2020+," we have put our hope that all employees of the Group take part in the execution of the plan, and add new value to the Group. I hope all of you have global vision and continuously attempt new challenges with the aim of realizing dreams of the Group and each of you.

About Showa Denko K.K.

Showa Denko K.K. ("SDK"; TSE:4004,US:SHWDF) is a major manufacturer and marketer of chemical products serving a wide range of fields ranging from heavy industry to the electronic and computer industries. The Petrochemicals Sector provides cracker products such as ethylene and propylene, the Chemicals Sector provides industrial and high-performance gasses and chemicals and high-purity gases and chemicals for the semiconductor industry, and the Inorganics Sector provides ceramics products such as alumina, abrasive, refractory and graphite electrodes and fine carbon products. Today, the Aluminum Sector provides aluminum materials and high-value-added fabricated aluminum, the Electronics Sector provides HD media, compound semiconductors such as ultra high-bright LEDs and rare earth magnetic alloys, and the Advanced Battery Materials Department (ABM) provides lithium-ion battery components. For more information, please visit www.sdk.co.jp/english/.

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