Sector News

Sabic extraordinary general meeting clears way for Aramco acquisition

June 16, 2020
Chemical Value Chain

Sabic extraordinary general meeting (EGM) approved a series of changes to the company’s bylaws in preparation for the acquisition of a 70% stake in the company by Saudi Aramco, said Chemweek.

Aramco plans to complete the acquisition by the end of this month, barring last minute hitches. In April the company was reported to be in talks with the Public Investment Fund (PIF; Riyadh), which is selling the holding to Aramco, to reduce the price of USD69.1 billion following the collapse in the price of oil and the drop in Sabic’s share price since the deal was agreed on.

Of the numerous changes, the most important includes the article that says, the government, represented by the PIF, shall retain ownership of at least 25% of the shares of the corporation throughout the whole duration of the corporation. The article further says that a portion of these retained shares may be sold by virtue of cabinet decree by the normal procedure followed in the public offering of the shares of joint stock companies for general subscription according the the relevant laws.

Sabic CEO Yousef al-Benyan says the changes to the bylaws pave the way for a new chapter for Sabic. “We recognize the importance of meeting shareholder expectations and delivering value is fundamental for us. We are geared for long-term growth and moving towards a new chapter that can position Sabic as the kingdom’s chemical growth platform,” he said. The virtual EGM voted to change bylaws relating to a wide range of matters, such as the company’s head office and share ownership. 30% of Sabic shares will continue to trade on the Riyadh stock exchange.

Aramco’s chemical business, following the Sabic and other acquisitions, will operate in more than 50 countries and is expected to have the largest net production capacity for ethylene and be among the top four companies by net production of polyethylene, polypropylene and ethylene glycol.

As MRC informed earlier,Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. (SSTPC), a 50-50 joint venture of Sinopec and SABIC, has taken off-stream its styrene monomer (SM) plant. The company has undertaken a planned shutdown at the plant on May 7, 2020. The plant is slated to remain under maintenance for about 7-8 weeks. Located at Tianjin, China, the SM plant has a production capacity of 35,000 tonnes/year.

SM is the main feedstock for the production of polystyrene (PS).

According to MRC’s ScanPlast report, March 2020 estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics dropped by 2% year on year, totalling 42,130 tonnes. The estimated consumption totalled 121,880 tonnes in the first three months of 2020, down by 2% year on year. Overall, Russian plants produced 42,790 tonnes in March 2020. Overall output of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) totalled 32,100 tonnes in March 2020. 98,390 tonnes of HIPS and GPPS were produced in January-March 2020. The decrease in Russian plants’ output was 3%.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world”s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world”s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

By: Anna Larionova

Source: mrcplast

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