Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) announced today the signing in Beijing of financing agreements by its affiliate SINOPECSABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. Ltd, totalling RMB18.26billion (US $2.68 billion), including RMB 12.26billion (US $1.8 billion) long-term financing, plus an additional RMB 6 billion (US$ 880 million) in working capital facilitiesto finance its petrochemical complex in Tianjin, China, that is owned jointly by SABIC and SINOPEC. The two companies formed SINOPECSABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co.Ltd. (SSTPC) inNovember, 2009, as a 50/50 joint venture to build and operate the new petrochemical complex.
Mr. Khaled Al-Mana, SABIC Executive Vice President, Polymers, and Chairman of SSTPC, signed thefinancingagreements on behalf of SSTPC. The financial package included financing by leading Chinese banks and financial institutions including China Construction Bank acting as the agent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (served also as financial advisor), Bank of China, China Development Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China, and Sinopec Finance Company.
Mr. Mutlaq Al-Morished, SABIC Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance noted, “This loan facility arranged through the Chinese banks and financial institutions, represents further diversification of our financing capacity and demonstrates the trust and confidence these institutions have in SABIC.”
Pre-production operations of the new 3.2 million-ton petrochemical complex, including a million-ton ethylene cracker and eight additional downstream units, has also commenced.
ENDS
Samir A. Al-Abdrabbuh
Vice President, Corporate Communications
About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top five petrochemicals companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
SABIC’s businesses are grouped into: Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with six dedicated Technology and Innovation centers in Saudi Arabia, Europe, the USA and India. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with over 33,000 employees worldwide.
The company has 19 world-scale complexes in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, SABIC manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.