In the run-up to the planned start of trading in plastics futures on 27 May, the London Metal Exchange (LME; www.lme.com) has released the names of the first companies preparing to list their brands and warehouses. In PP and LLDPE, Dow Chemical, BP spin-off Innovene Europe, Reliance and Thai Polypropylene / Thai Polyethylene plan to participate. Chemopetrol is on the list for PP only. Surprisingly, PP world market leader Basell - which long had been a supporter of the LME plans - is missing from the list altogether. The European warehouse that guarantees the - basically required but likely to be little used - real delivery of the materials is Rotterdam-based C. Steinweg-Handelsveem.