FORM
6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
the
month of October 2007
Commission
File Number: 001-15152
SYNGENTA
AG
(Translation
of registrant’s name into English)
Schwarzwaldallee
215
4058
Basel
Switzerland
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
|
Form
20-F
|
X
|
Form
40-F
|
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):
|
Yes
|
No
|
X
|
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):
|
Yes
|
No
|
X
|
Indicate
by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form,
the
Registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:
|
Yes
|
No
|
X
|
If
“Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): N/A
| Re: | SYNGENTA AG |
| Press Release: |
“Syngenta
starts research partnership in Australia for sugarcane biomass
conversion
to
biofuels”
|
Filed
herewith is a press releases related to Syngenta AG. The full text
of the press
releases follows:
#
#
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Item
1
| Syngenta International AG | ||
| Media Office | ||
| CH-4002 Basel | ||
| Switzerland | ||
| Telephone: | +41 61 323 23 23 | |
| Fax: | +41 61 323 24 24 | |
|
www.syngenta.com
|
||
|
Media Release
|
|
|
Syngenta
starts research partnership in Australia for sugarcane biomass
conversion to
biofuels
Basel,
Switzerland/ Brisbane, Australia, October 22, 2007
Syngenta
announced
today that it has agreed a research partnership in Australia
that focuses on the
development of cost effective conversion of sugarcane bagasse
to biofuels,
including the delivery of plant-expressed enzymes. The research
partners are the
Queensland University of Technology (QUT), its technology transfer
and
commercialization company qutbluebox and the Australian agbiotech
company
Farmacule BioIndustries. A new Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane
Biofuel Development
will be established at QUT’s campus in Brisbane, Australia.
“We
are very pleased
to team up with such renowned experts on sugarcane as Queensland
University of
Technology and Farmacule”, said Robert Berendes, Head of Business Development at
Syngenta. “This broadens Syngenta’s biofuels strategy into new crops and speeds
up our development of biomass conversion technologies to make
cellulosic ethanol
economically viable.”
"This
collaboration
brings together dynamic new technologies as well as the expertise
and
infrastructure to tackle the challenge of producing cellulosic
ethanol from
cane. It has the potential to substantially decrease the cost
of bioethanol
production and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions",
said Professor
James Dale, Director at the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities
at
Queensland University of Technology.
Under
the
collaboration agreement Syngenta will have exclusive global marketing
rights for
the products, excluding for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific
islands, where
rights are held by the other project partners. Syngenta can also
use the
developed technologies in other crops. The Syngenta Centre for
Sugarcane Biofuel
Development will commence operations immediately.
The
Queensland
Government strongly supports this partnership and will invest
a total
of
AUD
5.1 million
(approx. USD 4.6 million) for the establishment of the new Syngenta
centre and
for the development of a related biocommodities pilot plant.
Other financial
details have not been disclosed.
QUT
is a leading Australian university
and is widely acknowledged for its research excellence in plant
biotechnology.
qutbluebox is the technology transfer and commercialization company
for QUT.
Farmacule BioIndustries is developing molecular
farming technology to cost
effectively mass produce
high-value proteins, biofuels and bioplastics in plants for various
industrial,
therapeutic and diagnostic applications. All three partners are
based in
Brisbane.
Syngenta
–
October
22, 2007 / Page of 1 of 2
Syngenta
is a
world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture
through
innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop
protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds
market. Sales in
2006 were approximately $8.1 billion. Syngenta employs around 21,000
people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss
stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further information
is available at
www.syngenta.com.
|
Media
Enquiries:
|
Médard
Schoenmaeckers (Switzerland)
|
+41
61 323
2323
|
|
|
Sarah
Hull
(US)
|
+1
202 628
2372
|
||
|
Analysts/Investors:
|
Jonathan
Seabrook
|
+41
61 323
7502
|
|
|
+1
202 737
6520
|
|||
|
Jennifer
Gough
|
+41
61 323
5059
|
||
|
+1
202 737
6521
|
Cautionary
Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
document
contains forward-looking statements, which can be identified
by terminology such
as ‘expect’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘potential’, ‘plans’, ‘prospects’, ‘estimated’,
‘aiming’, ‘on track’ and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results
to differ materially
from these statements. We refer you to Syngenta's publicly
available filings
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for information about
these and other risks and uncertainties. Syngenta assumes no
obligation to
update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results,
changed assumptions
or other factors. This document does not constitute, or form
part of, any offer
or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any
offer, to purchase or
subscribe for any ordinary shares in Syngenta AG, or Syngenta
ADSs, nor shall it
form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any
contract therefor.
Syngenta
–
October
22, 2007 / Page of 2 of 2
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized.
| SYNGENTA AG | |||
| |
|
|
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| Date: October 22, 2007 | By: | /s/ Christoph Mäder | |
|
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|||
| Name: | Christoph Mäder | ||
|
Title:
|
Head Legal & Taxes | ||