RIYADH, 23 March 2005 — Top officials of the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) met yesterday with two executives from the Bermuda-based Petredec Limited to discuss future plans after the NSCSA invested $50 million for 30.3 percent share in the Bermuda-based international liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) trading and ship-owning company.
NSCSA officials led by Khalil I. Al-Gannas, chief executive officer, and Saleh A. Al-Shamekh, vice chief executive officer, discussed with Charles Fearn and Chris Stedman, chief executive and managing director of Petredec Services Ltd. London, respectively, the course of action which both companies will take in their partnership. Both Petredec officials were in the Kingdom for the first time. Details of what were discussed were not disclosed, however, with officials of both companies expressing optimism regarding the viability of the partnership. “We thank Petredec for giving us the chance to be part of it. The partnership is beneficial to us in two ways-financial viability and strategic positioning for both of us,” Al-Gannas said.
Asked on how NSCSA financed its share acquisition in Petredec, Al-Gannas said that his company had the necessary funds in its coffers.
Fearn, on the hand, noted that the market has undergone a change during the last 12 months and “we’ve seen marked improvements in demand.” “We hope that the demand will be maintained,” he said.
The executive meeting, which will be held quarterly, was the first for the two shipping firms since the partnership was announced last Feb. 21. Talking about the partnership, Abdullah S. Nojaidi, NSCSA chairman, had earlier said that NSCSA’s investment in Petredec is the best route “by which we can become a market leader in the shipping and trading of LPG in this region.”
“This transaction represents a number of firsts for NSCSA, including our first share acquisition of an existing shipping company, our first venture into the gas trades, and our first major investment outside the Gulf region,” he said.
Nojaidi added that the transaction fulfills and fits perfectly with the shipping firm’s long-term strategy of strengthening international alliances and diversifying NSCSA’s portfolio, thus fulfilling the company’s growth ambitions. “We are extremely pleased to be investing in and working with a company of Petredec’s caliber,” Nojaidi said.
Don Dunstan, Petredec chairman, added,” We are extremely pleased to welcome NSCSA onboard as a shareholder. We are aggressively growing our shipping and trading activities and we expect to see a major part of this expansion take place in the Arabian Gulf. We are considering further development of our cooperation with NSCSA and we fully expect that our relationship will grow over time to our mutual benefit.”
NSCSA is a public stock holding company quoted on the Saudi stock exchange with a majority of shares owned privately, and with 28.2 percent owned by the Saudi government.