Cautious optimism about 2017

Yoke Loon Lim, president of Dow Greater China.

Sustainable urbanization is a challenge for China, yet it's also an opportunity. To attract and support the 300 million Chinese expected to move to cities in the next two decades, China will need clean air, quality water, comfortable houses and healthy and abundant food. If China can make it, that would be a great upgrade of its industries. A commitment to sustainable growth can be good for the environment, good for people and good for business ... all at the same time.

A2 At the core of China's growth priorities are economic transformation and sustainable urbanization－concerns that we are familiar with at Dow. Dow's technology-driven and market-focused portfolio closely aligns with China's plan on economic and social development priorities. Our strategy is to accelerate growth by focusing on key markets, develop solutions to address needs from areas such as energy, transportation, infrastructure, sports, and home and personal care. We see business opportunities in China's transformational journey as we support the endeavors of the government and our customers.

A3 Globally, Dow has achieved 16 consecutive quarters of year-over-year operating earnings growth, during which time Dow has also delivered three consecutive years of volume growth. Dow Greater China has been a contributor to this global success. In 2015, we delivered a strong volume growth of 10 percent, which represented the highest volume growth among Dow markets worldwide. We remained on the growth track in 2016, and will continue this momentum as we move into 2017.

A4 A stable foreign-exchange system which reflects the market will benefit the business community in the long run. In China, Dow's business focuses more on our value to customers, to industry and to the Chinese economy through our solutions and expertise. This makes Dow less vulnerable to market volatility, industry cycles and economic uncertainty.

A5 Dow has continued to invest in China over the years. We are doing business in China with a long-term view－strengthening our local innovation, manufacturing and service networks so as to be better positioned to serve the China market. In 2016, we invested in two new facilities in China－an advanced coating materials plant in Chengdu and an agro-science plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, for local manufacturing of herbicides. In the future, Dow will continue to evaluate and invest to expand our manufacturing, innovation and operational networks in China. We expect our growth from the ongoing development of our core businesses, which are aligned with the government's economic and social development priorities.