Dow Chemical raises asset sale target by $1.5 billion-$2.0 billion

(Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co (NYS:DOW) said it aims sell a further $1.5 billion (£902 million) to $2.0 billion (£1.20 billion) worth of assets as it looks to narrow its focus to electronics, agriculture and packaging.

Dow, which is seeking to lower its exposure to volatile commodity prices, now aims to raise $4.5 billion to $6.0 billion from asset sales by the end of 2015, Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said on a call to update shareholders on the company's strategy. (http://r.reuters.com/pag77v)

The company is under pressure from hedge fund titan Daniel Loeb to spin off its lucrative but slow-growing petrochemical unit and focus on specialty materials.

(Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)