JEDDAH, 25 December 2006 — International Acetyl Company (IAC), International Vinyl Acetate Monomer Company (IVAC) and United Industrial Gases Company (UIGC) — affiliates of Saudi International Petrochemical Company’s (Sipchem) — signed $560 million (SR2.1 billion) loan facility with nine regional banks on Saturday for joint Acetyls complex.
HSBC acted as the independent financial adviser for the complex, according to a Sipchem press release. “The amount of loan will be scaled down once the PIF loan is signed in the future,” Acetyls Complex President Abdullah Al-Saadoon said. He indicated that Sipchem had already started the process of converting the loans to Islamic (Ijara lease) structure in line with the company’s long-term goals.
The construction of the acetyls complex has started at the company site in Jubail and is progressing as schedule. The complex comprises three facilities — the 460,000-ton per annum (mtpa) acetic acid plant, the 330,000 mtpa vinyl acetate monomer plant and the 345,000 mtpa carbon monoxide plant, in addition to the utilities and offsite port facilities at King Fahd Industrial Seaport in Jubail.
