JEDDAH, 19 September 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) intends to invest $70 billion within the next 15 years, according to a high-ranking SABIC official.
“SABIC’s present and future investment as part of its plan to increase production will cross $20 billion in three years and $70 billion in the next 15 years,” said Fahd Al-Sheaibi, its vice president.
Addressing an industrial conference in Dubai, he said SABIC wanted to increase its production from 43 million tons to 64 million tons within the next three years to become the world’s largest producer of ethylene glycol.
SABIC reported first half 2005 net profits of SR9.84 billion ($2.6 billion), registering an increase of 84 percent compared to the profits in the same period last year. Its shares were instrumental in driving up the Kingdom’s stock market index to reach close to 15,000 points.
SABIC Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Al-Mady said the corporate operational profits reflected SABIC’s sustained endeavors in managing its expenses and investing more in its capabilities to boost and optimize its production and marketing. “This rise reflects the remarkable increase in the company’s marketing performance in parallel with the rise of global prices compared to the 1st half of last year,” Al-Mady said.
SABIC’s total production during the first half of 2005 stood at 22.5 million metric tons, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year. This follows the United affiliate’s phase I going on stream, adding more than two million metric tons annually to production figures. Sales were 17.4 million metric tons, an increase of 10 percent over the same period last year.
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings have assigned their corporate credit ratings to SABIC highlighting the company’s worldwide leading market positions in base and commodity petrochemicals, fertilizers and steel products. The outlook of these two rating services companies reflect on SABIC’s leading global position, increasing profitability during the past five years, and its sound financial position in honoring its long and short-term financial obligations.
SABIC’s operations include Strategic Business Units that produce basic chemicals, intermediates, PVC and polyester, fertilizers, polyolefins, and metals. Some of these operations are joint ventures with multi-national partners that include Exxon Mobil, Shell, Celanese, Neste, Ecofuel-ENI, Mitsubishi and others.
Three years ago, SABIC began its global expansion. SABIC acquired the petrochemical interests of the Dutch company, DSM, in 2002. This included two production sites — in Geleen, Netherlands, and Gelsenkirchen, Germany. SABIC then bought Owen Corning’s 50 percent share in a former Corning-DSM partnership called StaMax. The StaMax product is glass-reinforced polypropylene used by the auto industry to make engine accessories and body parts for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and other fine cars.
