OREANDA-NEWS. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM or the “Company”) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) announced today that the Directors of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), who met today in an Ordinary Board of Directors Meeting, unanimously agreed to pay and distribute a provisional dividend. This payment is referred to in SQM’s Dividend Policy for the 2015 Business Year, which was reported at SQM’s Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting held on April 24th of this year.

SQM shall pay and distribute, beginning on December 10, 2015, a provisional dividend of US$0.31915 per share, which is approximately equivalent to the total amount of US$84,000,000 and, the latter, to 49.82889% of the distributable net income of the 2015 business year, accumulated as of September 30, 2015. This shall be charged against the net income of said business year, in favor of the Shareholders who appear in SQM’s Registry of Shareholders on the fifth business day prior to December 10, 2015, and in its equivalent in national currency (Chilean pesos) according to the value of the "Observed Dollar" or "U.S. Dollar" as published in the Official Gazette on December 3, 2015.

The Company notified the above as an essential fact and by the virtue of the provisions of this effect in Articles 9 and 10, second paragraph, of Law 18,045, and also in accordance with the provisions of SQM’s Dividend Policy for the 2015 Business Year and Bulletins No. 660 and No. 687 and the General Rule No. 30 of the Superintendence of Securities and Insurance.

About SQM

SQM is an integrated producer and distributor of specialty plant nutrients, iodine, lithium, potassium-related fertilizers and industrial chemicals. Its products are based on the development of high quality natural resources that allow the Company to be a leader in costs, supported by a specialized international network with sales in over 110 countries. SQM’s development strategy aims to maintain and strengthen the Company’s position in each of its businesses.

The leadership strategy is based on the Company’s competitive advantages and on the sustainable growth of the different markets in which it participates. SQM’s main competitive advantages in its different businesses include:

 Low production costs based on vast and high quality natural resources;
 Know-how and its own technological developments in its various production processes;
 Logistics infrastructure and high production levels that allow SQM to have low distribution costs;
 High market share in all its core products;
 International sales network with offices in 20 countries and sales in over 110 countries;
 Synergies from the production of multiple products that are obtained from the same two natural resources;
 Continuous new product development according to the specific needs of its different customers;
 Conservative and solid financial position.