UPDATE 1-M'bishi Chemical to post loss in April-June qtr- Nikkei

June 5 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (4188.T) is expected to book an operating loss of about 23 billion yen ($238.2 million) for the April-June quarter on falling demand for synthetic resin, the Nikkei business daily said.

Sales for the quarter are likely to fall 25 percent to about 570 billion yen, the paper said.

For the July-September quarter, sales are projected to drop 28 percent to slightly less than 600 billion yen, with operating profit falling 40 percent to about 13 billion yen, the paper said without citing any sources.

Mitsubishi Chemical has already announced plans to exit its polystyrene and PVC businesses, and withdraw from production of terephthalic acid, used in making polyester clothing and plastic bottles, in Japan. ($1=96.57 Yen) (Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)