Our Advanced Engineered Materials segment includes our engineered materials business, our food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates. The engineered materials business leverages our leading project pipeline model to more rapidly commercialize projects. Our unique approach is based on deep customer engagement to develop new projects that are aligned with our skill domains to address critical customer needs and ensure our success and growth.

Engineered Materials is a project-based business where growth is driven by increasing new project commercializations from the pipeline. Our project pipeline model leverages competitive advantages that include our global assets and resources, marketplace presence, broad materials portfolio and differentiated capabilities. Our global assets and resources are represented by our operations, including polymerization, compounding, research and development, and customer technology centers in all regions of the world, including Brazil, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the US, along with sites associated with our four strategic affiliates in Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the US.

Our broad marketplace presence reflects our deep understanding of global and customer trends, including the growing global demand for more sophisticated vehicles, elevated environmental considerations, increased global connectivity, and improved health and wellness. These global trends drive a range of needed customer solutions, such as vehicle lightweighting, precise components, aesthetics

Our materials portfolio offers differentiated chemical and physical properties that enable them to perform in a variety of conditions. These include enduring a wide range of temperatures, resisting adverse chemical interactions and withstanding deformation. POM, PBT and LFRT are used in a broad range of performance-demanding applications, including fuel system components, automotive safety systems, consumer electronics, appliances, industrial products and medical applications.

UHMW-PE is used in battery separators, industrial products, filtration equipment, coatings and medical applications. Primary end uses for LCP are electrical applications or products and consumer electronics. Thermoplastic elastomers offer unique attributes for use in automotive, appliances, consumer goods, electrical, electronic and industrial applications. Nylon compounds are used in a range of applications including automotive, consumer, electrical, electronic and industrial. These value-added applications in diverse end uses support the business' global growth objectives.

We also have several differentiated polymer technologies designed for the utility industry, the oil and gas industry, original equipment manufacturers and companies that enhance supply chain efficiency. These include composite technologies for the utility industry that deliver greater reliability, capacity and performance for utility transmission lines.

Polyplastics Co., Ltd., our 45%-owned strategic affiliate ("Polyplastics"), and Korea Engineering Plastics Co., Ltd., our 50%-owned strategic affiliate ("KEPCO"), also manufacture POM and other engineering resins in the Asia-Pacific region.

The primary raw material for POM is formaldehyde, which is manufactured from methanol. Raw materials are sourced from internal production and from third parties, generally through long-term contracts.

TheBecause Engineered Materials is a project-based business focused on solutions, the pricing of products by the Advanced Engineered Materialsin this segment is primarily based on the value of the material we producevalue-in-use and is largelygenerally independent of changes in the cost of raw materials. Therefore, in general, margins may expand or contract in response to changes in raw material costs.

The pricing of products within the cellulose derivatives and food ingredients businessesAcetate Tow segment is sensitive to demand and is primarily based on the value of the material we produce.value-in-use. Many sales in these businesses are conducted under contracts with pricing for one or more years. As a result, margins may expand or contract in response to changes in raw material costs over these similar periods, and we may be unable to adjust pricing also due to other factors, such as the intense level of competition in the industry.

The Industrial SpecialtiesAcetyl Chain segment, which includes ourthe integrated chain of intermediate chemistry, emulsion polymers and EVA polymers businesses, is active in every major global industrial sector and serves diverse industrial and consumer end-use applications. These include traditional vinyl-based end uses, such as paints and coatings and adhesives, as well as other unique, high-value end uses including flexible packaging, thermal laminations, wire and cable, and compounds.

The Industrial Specialties segment builds on our leading acetyl technology. Our Acetyl Intermediates segmentintermediate chemistry business produces VAM, a primary raw material for our emulsion polymers and EVA polymers businesses. Ethylene, another key raw material, is purchased externally from a variety of sources through annual or multi-year contracts.

Our emulsion polymers business has experienced significant growth in Asia, and we have made investments to support continued growth in the region. In September 2016, we beganregion including production at our new VAE emulsions unit in Singapore, which will supportsupporting growing demand for ecologically friendly materials in Southeast Asia. In addition to geographic growth, the Industrial Specialties businesses are focused on supporting our overall manufacturing footprint strategy to increase value, such as integrating our production sites to provide critical economies of scale.

Acetic acid and VAM, our basic acetyl intermediates products, are primarily impacted byleverage global supply and demand fundamentals. The principal raw materials in these products are carbon monoxide, which is purpose-mademethanol and in which weethylene. We generally purchase carbon monoxide under long-term contracts, and we now have the ability to produce carbon monoxide internally with the purchase of the synthesis gas unit from Linde AG. We generally purchase methanol and ethylene which we generally purchase under both annual and multi-year contracts. Generally, methanolMethanol and ethylene are commodity products and generally available from a wide variety of sources, while carbon monoxide is typically obtained from sourcespurpose-made in close proximity.

In February 2014, we formedWe have a joint venture, Fairway Methanol LLC ("Fairway"), with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan ("Mitsui"), in which we own a 50% interest, for the production of methanol at our integrated chemical plant in Clear Lake, Texas. The methanol unit utilizes natural gas in the US Gulf Coast region as a feedstock and benefits from the existing infrastructure at our Clear Lake facility. The methanol facility has an annual capacity of 1.3 million tons. Fairway began production in October 2015.feedstock. Almost all of our North American methanol needs are met from our share of the production, as well as the long-term contract we have with our joint venture partner, Mitsui.

On February 13, 2019, we completed the acquisition of a 365kt synthesis gas production unit from Linde AG, located at our VAM facility will make it the largestClear Lake, Texas facility. The acquisition further strengthens our capability of managing future productivity and most efficient VAM plantgrowth in the world and is expected to be completed by 2018.production of acetic acid.

Sales from acetyl products amounted to 29%27%, 31% and 33%27% of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2016, 20152019, 2018 and 2014,2017, respectively.

Our intermediate chemistry business sells its products both directly to customers and through distributors. Acetic acid, VAM and acetic anhydride are global businesses, and we generally supply our customers under multi-year contracts.a mix of short- and long-term agreements. Acetic acid, VAM and acetic anhydride customers produce polymers used in water-based paints, adhesives, paper coatings, polyesters, film modifiers, pharmaceuticals, cellulose acetate and textiles. We have long-standing relationships with most of these customers.

Emulsion and EVA polymers products are sold to a diverse group of regional and multinational customers. Customers of our emulsion polymers business are manufacturers of water-based paints and coatings, adhesives, paper, building and construction products, glass fiber, non-wovens and textiles. Customers of our EVA polymers business are engaged in the wood products and chemical derivatives industries. The salemanufacture of formaldehyde is based on long- and short-term agreements. Specialty solvents are sold globally to a wide variety of customers, primarily in the coatingsproducts, including hot melt adhesives, automotive components, thermal laminations, and resinsflexible and the specialty products industries. These products serve global regions in the synthetic lubricant, agrochemical, rubber processing and other specialty chemical areas.food packaging materials.

Pricing of acetic acid, VAM and other acetylour products within the Acetyl Chain segment is influenced by industry utilization and changes in the cost of raw materials. Therefore, in general, there is a direct correlation between the cost of raw materialsthese factors and our netNet sales for most intermediate chemistry products. This impact to pricing typically lags changes in raw material costs over months or quarters.quarters and impacts profit margins over those periods.

Other Activities

Other Activities primarily consists of corporate center costs, including administrative activities such as finance, information technology and human resource functions, interest income and expense associated with our financing activities and results of our captive insurance companies. Our two wholly-owned captive insurance companies are a key component of our global risk management program, as well as a form of self-insurance for our liability and workers compensation risks. The captive insurance companies retain risk at levels approved by management and obtain reinsurance coverage from third parties to limit the net risk retained. One of the captive insurance companies also insures certain third-party risks. Other Activities also includes the interest cost, expected return on assets and net actuarial gains and losses components of our net periodic benefit cost for our defined benefit pension plans and other postretirement plans, which are not allocated to our business segments. Ongoing merger, acquisition and integration related costs are also included in Other Activities.

Strategic Affiliates

Our strategic affiliates represent an important component of our strategy for accelerated growth and global expansion. We have a substantial portfolio of affiliates in various regions, including Asia-Pacific, North America and the Middle East. These affiliates, some of which date back as far as the 1960s, have sizeable operations and are significant within their industries.

Our strategic affiliates contribute substantial earnings and cash flows to us. During the year ended December 31, 2016,2019, our equity method strategic affiliates generated combined sales of $2.0$2.4 billion, resulting in our recording $122$157 million of equity in net earnings of affiliates and $92$143 million of dividends.

Although our ownership interest in each of our cellulose derivativesAcetate Tow ventures exceeds 20%, we account for these investments using theat cost method of accountingafter considering observable price changes for similar instruments, minus impairment, if any, because we determined that we

cannot exercise significant influence over these entities due to local government investment in and influence over these entities, limitations on our involvement in the day-to-day operations and the present inability of the entities to provide timely financial information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("US GAAP").America. Further, these investments were determined not to have a readily determinable fair value.

Other Equity Method Investments

We attach importance to protecting our intellectual property, including safeguarding our confidential information and through our patents, trademarks and copyrights, in order to preserve our investment in research and development, manufacturing and marketing. Patents may cover processes, equipment, products, intermediate products and product uses. We also seek to register trademarks as a means of protecting the brand names of our Company and products.

We monitor competitive developments and defend against infringements on our intellectual property rights. Neither Celanese nor any particular business segment is materially dependent upon any one patent, trademark, copyright or trade secret.

We do not consider backlog to be a significant indicator of the level of future sales activity. In general, we do not manufacture our products against a backlog of orders. Production and inventory levels are based on the level of incoming orders as well as projections of future demand. Therefore, we believe that backlog information is not material to understanding our overall business and should not be considered a reliable indicator of our ability to achieve any particular level of net sales or financial performance.

We make available free of charge, through our internet website (http://www.celanese.com), our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as ownership reports on Form 3 and Form 4, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with, or furnishing it to, the SEC. References to our website in this report are provided as a convenience, and the information on our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be a part of this report or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including Celanese Corporation, that electronically file with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

We also make available free of charge, through our website, our Corporate Governance Guidelines of our Board of Directors and the charters of each of the standing committees of our Board of Directors.

We operate globally and have customers in many countries. Our major facilities are primarily located in North America, Europe and Asia, and we hold interests in affiliates that operate in the United States ("US"), Germany, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Our principal customers are similarly global in scope and the prices of our most significant products are typically regional or world market prices. Consequently, our business and financial results are affected, directly and indirectly, by world economic conditions, including instability in credit markets, declining consumer and business confidence, fluctuating commodity prices and interest rates, volatile exchange rates and other challenges such as the changing regulatory environment.

Our operations are also subject to global political conditions. For example, the US' withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, any future withdrawal or renegotiation of trade agreements, includingor the North American Free Trade Agreement,failure to reach agreement over trade agreements, or the imposition of new or increased tariffs on our products or raw materials, or the more aggressive prosecution of trade disputes with countries like China, may increase costs or reduce profitability, or adversely affect our ability to operate our business and execute our growth strategy. In addition, it may be more difficult for us to enforce agreements, collect receivables, receive dividends and repatriate earnings through foreign legal systems. In certain foreign jurisdictions our operations are subject to nationalization and expropriation risk and some of our contractual relationships within these jurisdictions are subject to cancellation without full compensation for loss. Furthermore, in certain cases where we benefit from local government subsidies or other undertakings, such benefits are subject to the solvency of local government entities and are subject to termination without meaningful recourse or remedies.

We have invested significant resources in China and other Asian countries. This region's growth may slow, and we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits associated with our investment there and, consequently, our financial results may be adversely impacted.

In addition, we have significant operations and financial relationships based in Europe. Historically, sales originating in Europe have accounted for over one-third of our net sales. For example, in 2016,2019, sales originating in Europe accounted for approximately 40% of our net sales. Adverse conditions in the European economy related to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union ("EU") membership referendum or otherwise may negatively impact our overall financial results due to reduced economic growth, and resulting decreased end-use customer demand.demand or other factors.

We purchase significant amounts of ethylene, methanol, carbon monoxide and natural gas from third parties primarily for use in our production of basic chemicals in the Acetyl Intermediates segment,our intermediate chemistry business, principally acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer ("VAM") and formaldehyde. We use a portion of our output of these chemicals, in turn, as inputs in the production of downstream products in all of our business segments. We also purchase some of these raw materials for use in our Industrial Specialties segment,emulsion polymers and EVA polymer businesses, primarily for vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions and ethylene vinyl acetate production, as well as significant amounts of wood pulp for use in our production of cellulose derivatives in our Consumer Specialties segment.acetate tow. The price of many of these items is dependent on the available supply of that item and may increase significantly as a result of uncertainties associated with war, terrorist activities, civil unrest, epidemics, pandemics, weather, natural disasters, the effects of climate change or political instability, plant or production disruptions, strikes or other labor unrest, breakdown or degradation of transportation infrastructure used in the delivery of strategic raw materials and energy commodities, or changes in laws or regulations in any of the countries in which we have significant suppliers. In particular, to the extent of our vertical integration in the production of chemicals, shortages in the availability of raw material chemicals, such as natural gas, ethylene and methanol, or the loss of our dedicated supplies of carbon monoxide, may have an increased adverse impact on us as it can cause a shortage in intermediate and finished products. Such shortages would adversely impact our ability to produce certain products and increase our costs resulting in reduced margins and adverse financial results.

We are exposed to volatility in the prices of our raw materials and energy. Although we have long-term supply agreements, multi-year purchasing and sales agreements and forward purchase contracts providing for the supply of ethylene, methanol, carbon monoxide, wood pulp, natural gas and electricity, the contractual prices for these raw materials and energy can vary with economic conditions and may be highly volatile. In addition to the factors noted above that may impact supply or price, factors that have caused volatility in our raw material prices in the past and which may do so in the future include:

If we are not able to fully offset the effects of higher energy and raw material costs through price increases, productivity improvements or cost reduction programs, or if such commodities become unavailable, it could have a significant adverse effect on our ability to timely and profitably manufacture and deliver our products resulting in reduced margins and adverse financial results.

We have a practice of maintaining, when available, multiple sources of supply for raw materials and services. However, some of our individual plants may have single sources of supply for some of their raw materials, such as carbon monoxide, steam and ethylene, or site services. Although we have been able to obtain sufficient supplies of raw materials and services, there can be no assurance that unforeseen developments will not affect our ability to source raw materials or services in the future. Even if we have multiple sources of supply for a raw material or a service, there can be no assurance that these sources can make up for the loss of a major supplier. Furthermore, if any sole source or major supplier were unable or unwilling to deliver a raw material or a service for an extended period of time, we may not be able to find an acceptable alternative or any such alternative could result in increased costs. It is also possible profitability will be adversely affected if we are required to qualify additional sources of supply for a raw material or a service to our specifications in the event of the loss of a sole source or major supplier.

A portionAlmost all of our supply of methanol in North America is currently obtained from our joint venture, Fairway Methanol LLC ("Fairway"), with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan, in which we own a 50% interest, for the production of methanol at our integrated chemical plant in Clear Lake, Texas. Fairway began production in October 2015.

A disruption in production at one or more of our manufacturing facilities, or our suppliers, could have a material adverse effect on our business. Disruptions could occur for many reasons, including fire, natural disasters, weather, unplanned maintenance or other manufacturing problems, disease, strikes or other labor unrest, transportation interruption, government regulation, political unrest or terrorism. Alternative facilities with sufficient capacity or capabilities may not be available, may cost substantially more or may take a significant time to start production, each of which could negatively affect our business and financial performance. If one of our key manufacturing facilities is unable to produce our products for an extended period of time, our sales may be reduced by the shortfall caused by the disruption and we may not be able to meet our customers' needs, which could cause them to seek other suppliers. In particular, production disruptions at our manufacturing facilities that produce chemicals used as inputs in the production of chemicals in other business segments, such as acetic acid, VAM and formaldehyde, could have a more significant adverse effect on our business and financial performance and results of operations to the extent of such vertical integration. Furthermore, to the extent a production disruption occurs at a manufacturing facility that has been operating at or near full capacity, the resulting shortage of our product could be particularly harmful because production at such manufacturing facility may not be able to reach levels achieved prior to the disruption. During 2019, production of acetic acid and VAM was disrupted due to a localized fire at our Clear Lake, Texas facility, which caused reduced sales and profits.

Our operating results depend significantly on the development of commercially viable new products, product grades and applications, as well as process technologies, free of any legal restrictions. If we are unsuccessful in developing new products, applications and production processes in the future, including failing to leverage our opportunity pipeline in our Advanced

The development, manufacture and sale of specialty chemical products by us, including products produced for the food and beverage, cigarette, automobile, construction, aerospace, medical device and pharmaceutical industries, involves a risk of exposure to product liability, warranty, and tort claims, product recalls, product seizures and related adverse publicity. A product liability, warranty, or tort claim or judgment against us that is larger than those typically experienced in the regular course of business could also result in substantial and unexpected expenditures, affect consumer or customer confidence in our products, and divert management's attention from other responsibilities. Although we maintain product liability insurance, there can be no assurance that this type or the level of coverage is adequate or that we will be able to continue to maintain our existing insurance or obtain comparable insurance at a reasonable cost, if at all. A product recall or a significant partially or completely uninsured judgment against us could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Although we have standard contracting policies and controls, we may not always be able to contractually limit our exposure to third party claims should our failure to perform result in downstream supply disruptions or product recalls.

We could be subject to damages based on claims brought against us by our customers or lose customers as a result of the failure of our products to meet certain quality specifications.

Our products provide important performance attributes to our customers' products. If a productone of our products fails to perform in a manner consistent with applicable quality specifications, a customer could seek replacement of the product or damages for costs incurred as a result of the product failing to perform as guaranteed. A successful claim or series of claims against us could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and could result in a loss of one or more key customers.

We rely on our patents, trademarks, copyrights, know-how and trade secrets, and patents and other technology licensed from third parties, to protect our investment in research and development and our competitive commercial positions in manufacturing and marketing our products. We have adopted internal policies for protecting our know-how and trade secrets. In addition, our practice is to seek patent or trade secret protection for significant developments that provide us competitive advantages and freedom to practice for our businesses. Patents may cover catalysts, processes, products, intermediate products and product uses. These patents are usually filed in strategic countries throughout the world and provide varying periods and scopes of protection based on the filing date and the type of patent application. The legal life and scope of protection provided by a patent may vary among those countries in which we seek protection. As patents expire, the catalysts, processes, products, intermediate products and product uses described and claimed in those patents generally may become available for use by the public subject to our continued protection for associated know-how and trade secrets. We also monitor intellectual property of others, especially patents that could impact our rights to commercially implement research and development, our rights to manufacture and market our products, and our rights to use know-how and trade secrets. We will not intentionally infringe upon the valid intellectual property rights of others, and we will continue to assess and take actions as necessary to protect our positions. We also seek to register trademarks as a means of protecting the brand names of our products, which brand names

become more important once the corresponding product or process patents have expired. We operate in regions of the world where intellectual property protection may be limited and difficult to enforce and our continued growth strategy may result in us seeking intellectual property protection in additional regions with similar challenges. We also monitor the trademarks of others and take action when our trademark rights are being infringed upon. If we are not successful in protecting or maintaining our patent, license, trademark or other intellectual property rights, or protecting our rights to commercially make, market and sell our products, our net sales, results of operations and cash flows may be adversely affected.

Our business is exposed to risks associated with the creditworthiness of our key suppliers, customers and business partners and reductions in demand for our customers' products. These risks include the interruption of production at the facilities of our customers, the reduction, delay or cancellation of customer orders, delays in or the inability of customers to obtain financing to purchase our products, delays in or interruptions of the supply of raw materials we purchase and bankruptcy of customers, suppliers or other creditors. Furthermore, some of the industries in which our end-use customers participate, such as the automotive, electrical, construction and textile industries, are highly competitive, to a large extent driven by end-use

Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations and/or changes in applicable laws or regulations may adversely affect our business and financial results as a whole.

We are subject to extensive international, national, state, local and other laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws, including antitrust and anticorruption laws, rules, regulations or court decisions, could expose us to fines, penalties and other costs. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws, rules, regulations and court decisions, there can be no assurance that our employees and business partners and other third parties acting on our behalf will comply with these laws, rules, regulations and court decisions, which could result in fines, penalties and costs and damage to our business reputation.

Costs related to our compliance with environmental laws and regulations, and potential obligations with respect to sites currently or formerly owned or operated by us, may have a significant negative impact on our operating results. We also have obligations related to the indemnity agreement contained in the demerger and transfer agreement between Celanese GmbH and Hoechst AG for environmental matters arising out of certain divestitures that took place prior to the demerger.

New or revised governmental regulations and independent studies relating to the effect of our products on health, safety or the environment may affect demand for our products and the cost of producing our products. In addition, products we produce, including VAM, formaldehyde and plastics derived from formaldehyde, may be classified and labeled in a manner that would adversely affect demand for such products. For example, in 2012 the International Agency for Research on Cancer ("IARC"), a private research agency within the World Health Organization, classified formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) based on epidemiological studies linking formaldehyde exposure to nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare cancer in humans. In addition, several studies have investigated possible links between formaldehyde exposurehumans, and various end points, including leukemia. In October 2009, IARC concluded that there is sufficient evidence of2011, a causal association between formaldehyde and the development of leukemia. In 2011,similar conclusion was reached by the National Toxicology Program ("NTP") released the 12th report on carcinogens, which changed the classification of formaldehyde from "reasonably anticipated to be, a human carcinogen" to "known to be a human carcinogen". Similar to the IARC modification in 2009, the NTP report also implicates formaldehyde as a leukemogen.U.S. inter-agency research program. We anticipate that the results of the IARC's and the NTP's reviews will continue to be examined and considered by government regulatory agencies with responsibility for setting worker and environmental exposure standards and labeling requirements.

Other pending initiatives potentially will require toxicological testing and risk assessments of a wide variety of chemicals, including chemicals used or produced by us. These initiatives include the Voluntary Children'sFrank R. Lautenberg Chemical Evaluation Program, High Production Volume Chemical Initiative and expected modifications toSafety for the 21st Century Act which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act in(TSCA), the US,United States primary chemicals management law, as well as various European Commission regulatory programs, such as the Registration,REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals,

Although we take precautions to enhance the safety of, and minimize the disruption to, our operations and operations at our facilities owned and/or operated by third parties, we are subject to operating and other risks associated with chemical manufacturing, including the storage and transportation of raw materials, finished products and waste. These risks include, among other things, pipeline and storage tank leaks and ruptures, explosions and fires and discharges or releases of toxic or hazardous substances. In addition, we may have limited control over operations at our facilities owned and/or operated by third parties or such operations may not be fully integrated into our safety programs.

These operating and other risks can cause personal injury, property damage, third-party damages and environmental contamination, and may result in the shutdown of affected facilities and the imposition of civil or criminal penalties. The occurrence of any of these events may disrupt production and have a negative effect on the productivity and profitability of a particular manufacturing facility, our operating results and cash flows.

The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program ("CFATS Program"), which is administered by the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), identifies and regulates chemical facilities to ensure that they have security measures in place to reduce the risks associated with potential terrorist attacks on chemical plants located in the US. In December 2014, the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014 ("CFATS Act") was enacted. The CFATS Act reauthorizes the CFATS Program for four years. The CFATS Extension Act of 2019 ("HR 251") was signed into law by the President on January 19, 2019. HR 251 extends CFATS for 15 months, until April 19, 2020. This extension does not make any changes to the program and is intended to provide lawmakers the needed time to discuss improvements to CFATS and provides for a longer term authorization. DHS has released an interim final rule under the CFATS Program that imposes comprehensive federal security regulations for high-risk chemical facilities in possession of specified quantities of chemicals of interest. This rule establishes risk-based performance standards for the security of our nation's chemical facilities. It requires covered chemical facilities to prepare Security Vulnerability Assessments, which identify facility security vulnerabilities, and to develop and implement Site Security Plans, which include measures that satisfy the identified risk-based performance standards. We cannot determine with certainty the costs associated with any security measures that DHS may require.

Greenhouse gas emissions have become the subject of a large amount of international, national, regional, state and local attention. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated rules concerning greenhouse gas emissions and cap and trade initiatives to limit greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in the EU. In addition, regulation of greenhouse gas also could occur pursuant to future treaty obligations, statutory or regulatory changes or new climate change legislation. For instance, the 2015 Paris Climate Summit Agreement resulted in voluntary commitments by numerous countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, which ultimately could result in firm commitments by various nations with respect to future greenhouse gas emissions. As such, future environmental legislative and regulatory developments related to climate change are possible, which could materially increase operating costs in the chemical industry and thereby increase our manufacturing and delivery costs.

Changes in, or the interpretation of, tax legislation or rates throughout the world could materially impact our results.

Our future effective tax rate and related tax balance sheet attributes could be impacted by changes in tax legislation throughout the world. The overall tax environment has made it increasingly challenging for multinational corporations to operate with certainty about taxation in many jurisdictions. For example, the European Commission has been conducting investigations focusing on whether local country tax rulings or tax legislation provide preferential tax treatment that violates EU state aid rules. In addition, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents a coalition of member countries, is supporting changes to numerous long-standing tax principles through its base erosion and profit shifting project, which is focused on a number of issues, including the shifting of profits among affiliated entities located in different tax jurisdictions. Furthermore, a number of countries where we do business, including the US and many countries in the EU, have changed or are considering changes in relevant tax, accounting and other laws, regulations and interpretations, including changes to tax laws applicable to multinational corporations. The increasingly complex global tax environment could have a material adverse effect on our effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Our future effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, expirations of tax holidays or rulings, changes in the assessment regarding the realization of deferred tax assets, or changes in tax laws and regulations or their interpretation. We are subject to the regular examination of our income tax returns by various tax authorities. Examinations in material jurisdictions or changes in laws, rules, regulations or interpretations by local taxing authorities could result in impacts to tax years open under statute or to foreign operating structures currently in place. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations or changes in laws, rules, regulations or interpretations to determine the adequacy of our provision for taxes. It is possible the outcomes from these examinations will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.

We conduct a significant portion of our operations outside the US. Consequently, fluctuations in currencies of other countries, especially the Euro, may materially affect our operating results. Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in US dollars, we must translate revenues, income and expenses, as well as assets and liabilities, into US dollars based on average exchange rates prevailing during the reporting period or the exchange rate at the end of that period. Therefore, increases or decreases in the value of the US dollar against other major currencies will affect our net operating revenues, operating income and the cost of balance sheet items denominated in foreign currencies. Foreign exchange rates can also impact the competitiveness of products produced in certain jurisdictions and exported for sale into other jurisdictions. These changes may impact the value received for the sale of our goods versus those of our competitors.

In addition to currency translation risks, we incur a currency transaction risk whenever one of our operating subsidiaries enters into a purchase or sales transaction using a currency different from the operating subsidiary's functional currency. Given the volatility of exchange rates, particularly the strengthening of the US dollar against major currencies or the currencies of large developing countries, we may not be able to manage our currency transaction and translation risks effectively.

We use financial instruments to hedge certain exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, but those hedges in most cases cover existing balance sheet exposures and not future transactional exposures. We cannot guarantee that our hedging strategies will be effective. In addition, the use of financial instruments creates counterparty settlement risk. Failure to effectively manage these risks could have an adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

We have been and will continue to be subject to advanced persistent information technology security threats. While some unauthorized access to our information technology systems occurs, we believe to date these threats have not had a material impact on our business. We seek to detect and investigate these security incidents and to prevent their recurrence but in some cases we might be unaware of an incident or its magnitude and effects. The theft, mis-use or publication of our intellectual property and/or confidential business information or the compromising of our systems or networks could harm our competitive position, cause operational disruption, reduce the value of our investment in research and development of new products and other strategic initiatives or otherwise adversely affect our business or results of operations. To the extent that any security breach results in inappropriate disclosure of our employees', customers' or vendors' confidential information, we may incur liability as a result. Although we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including monitoring of our systems and networks, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, our systems, networks, products and services remain potentially vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated advanced persistent threats that may have a material effect on our business. In addition, the devotion of additional resources to the security of our information technology systems in the future could significantly increase the cost of doing business or otherwise adversely impact our financial results.

We rely heavily on our management team. Accordingly, our success depends on our ability to attract and retain key personnel. The inability to recruit and retain key personnel or the unexpected loss of key personnel may adversely affect our operations. In addition, because of our reliance on our management team, our future success depends in part on our ability to identify and develop talent to succeed senior management. The retention of key personnel and appropriate senior management succession planning will continue to be important to the successful implementation of our strategies.

The cost of our pension plans is incurred over long periods of time and involves many uncertainties during those periods of time. Our funding policy for pension plans is to accumulate plan assets that, over the long run, will approximate the present value of projected benefit obligations. Our pension cost is materially affected by the discount rate used to measure pension obligations, the level and value of plan assets available to fund those obligations at the measurement date and the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. Significant changes in investment performance or a change in the portfolio mix of invested assets will likely result in corresponding increases and decreases in the valuation of plan assets and a change in the discount rate or mortality assumptions, which will likely result in an increase or decrease in the valuation of pension obligations. The combined impact of these changes will affect the reported funded status of our pension plans as well as the net periodic pension cost in the following fiscal years. In recent years, an extended duration strategy in the asset portfolio has been

implemented in some plans to reduce the influence of liability volatility due to changes in interest rates. If the funded status of a pension plan declines, we may be required to make unscheduled contributions in addition to those contributions for which we have already planned.

Some of our employees are unionized, represented by workers councils or are subject to local laws that are less favorable to employers than the laws of the US.

We may incur significant charges in the event we close or divest all or part of a manufacturing plant or facility.

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to pursue acquisitions and joint venture opportunities. Successful accomplishment of this objective may be limited by the availability and suitability of acquisition candidates, the ability to obtain regulatory approvals necessary to consummate a planned transaction, and by our financial resources, including available cash and borrowing capacity. Acquisitions and joint venture transactions involve numerous risks, including difficulty determining appropriate valuation, integrating operations, technologies, services and products of the acquired lines or businesses, personnel turnover and the diversion of management's attention from other business matters. In addition, we may be unable to achieve anticipated benefits from these acquisitionstransactions in the time frame that we anticipate, or at all, which could adversely affect our business or results of operations.

The insurance coverage that we maintain may not fully cover all operational risks.

We maintain property, business interruption and casualty insurance but such insurance may not cover all of the risks associated with the hazards of our business and is subject to limitations, including deductibles and maximum liabilities covered. We may incur losses beyond the limits, or outside the coverage, of our insurance policies, including liabilities for environmental remediation. In the future, the types of insurance we obtain and the level of coverage we maintain may be inadequate or we may be unable to continue to maintain our existing insurance or obtain comparable insurance at a reasonable cost.

Differences in views with our joint venture participants may cause our joint ventures not to operate according to their business plans, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

We currently participate in a number of joint ventures and may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. The nature of a joint venture requires us to work cooperatively with unaffiliated third parties. Differences in views among joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or failure to agree on major decisions. If these differences cause the joint ventures to deviate from their business plans or to fail to achieve their desired operating performance, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our level of indebtedness and other liabilities could have important consequences, including:

Although covenants under the New Credit Agreement and the Indentures limit our ability to incur certain additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and the indebtedness we could incur in compliance with these restrictions could be significant. To the extent that we incur additional indebtedness, the risks associated with our debt described above, including our possible inability to service our debt, including the Senior Notes, would increase.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our debt obligations depends on the financial condition and operating performance of our subsidiaries, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain

financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain the proceeds that we could realize from them, and these proceeds may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.

The New Credit Agreement, the Indentures and the Receivables Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") governing our receivables securitization facility each contain various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. The New Credit Agreement contains covenants including, but not limited to, restrictions on our ability to incur additional debt; incur liens securing debt; enter into sale-leaseback transactions; merge or consolidate with any other person; and sell, assign, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the Issuer's assets or the assets of its subsidiaries.

In addition, the Indentures limit Celanese US Holdings LLC ("Celanese US") and certain of its subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur liens securing debt; enter into sale-leaseback transactions; merge or consolidate with any other person; and sell, assign, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of Celanese US's assets or the assets of its restricted subsidiaries.

The Purchase Agreement also contains covenants including, but not limited to, restrictions on CE Receivables LLC, a wholly-owned, "bankruptcy remote" special purpose subsidiary of the Company, and certain other Company subsidiaries' ability to incur indebtedness; grant liens on assets; merge, consolidate, or sell certain assets; prepay or modify certain indebtedness; and engage in other businesses.

Such restrictions in our debt obligations could result in us having to obtain the consent of our lenders and holders of the Senior Notes in order to take certain actions. Disruptions in credit markets may prevent us from obtaining or make it more difficult or more costly for us to obtain such consents. Our ability to expand our business or to address declines in our business may be limited if we are unable to obtain such consents.

A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default, which, if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, a default under the New Credit Agreement could permit lenders to accelerate the maturity of our indebtedness under the New Credit Agreement and to terminate any commitments to lend. If the lenders under the New Credit Agreement accelerate the repayment of such indebtedness, we may not have sufficient liquidity to repay such amounts or our other indebtedness, including the Senior Notes. In such event, we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

As holding companies, Celanese and Celanese US conduct substantially all of their operations through their subsidiaries, which own substantially all of our consolidated assets. Consequently, the principal source of cash to pay Celanese and Celanese US's obligations, including obligations under the Senior Notes and the guarantee of Celanese US's obligations under the New Credit Agreement and the Indentures by Celanese, is the cash that our subsidiaries generate from their operations. We cannot assure that our subsidiaries will be able to, or be permitted to, make distributions to enable Celanese US and/or Celanese to make payments in respect of their obligations. Each of our subsidiaries is a distinct legal entity and, under certain circumstances, applicable country or state laws, regulatory limitations and terms of our debt instruments may limit our subsidiaries' ability to distribute cash to Celanese US and Celanese. While the New Credit Agreement and the Indentures limit the ability of our subsidiaries to put restrictions on paying dividends or making other intercompany payments to us, these limitations are subject to certain qualifications and exceptions, which may have the effect of significantly restricting the applicability of those limits. In the event Celanese US and/or Celanese do not receive distributions from our subsidiaries, Celanese US and/or Celanese may be unable to make required payments on the indebtedness under the New Credit Agreement, the Indentures, the guarantee of Celanese US's obligations under the New Credit Agreement and the Indentures by Celanese, or our other indebtedness.

None.

None.

Information about our Executive Officers of the Registrant

No shares of Celanese's Series B common stock and no shares of Celanese's 4.25% convertible perpetual preferred stock are issued and outstanding. As of February 6, 2017,January 30, 2020, there were 2847 holders of record of our Common Stock. By including persons holding shares in broker accounts under street names, however, we estimate we have approximately 83,632134,124 beneficial holders.

The following performance graph compares the cumulative total return on Celanese Corporation common stock from December 31, 20112014 through December 31, 20162019 to that of the Standard & Poor's ("S&P") 500 Stock Index and the Dow Jones US Chemicals Index. Cumulative total return represents the change in stock price and the amount of dividends received during the indicated period, assuming reinvestment of all dividends. The performance graph assumes an investment of $100 on December 31, 2011.2014. The stock performance shown in the graph is included in response to SEC requirements and is not intended to forecast or to be indicative of future performance.

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Forward-Looking Statements

Many of these factors are macroeconomic in nature and are, therefore, beyond our control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those described in this Annual Report as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended, planned or projected. We neither intend nor assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

Results of Operations