Saudi Aramco aims to buy controlling stake in SABIC: Sources

Chief Executive Officer of ARAMCO, Amin Nasser in Dhahran, 黑料社区, December 13, 2017. (Reuters)
  • Riyadh-listed SABIC, the world鈥檚 fourth-biggest petrochemicals firm, has a market capitalization of 385.2 billion Saudi riyals
  • The potential acquisition would affect the time frame of Aramco鈥檚 planned initial public offering set for later this year

DUBAI: Saudi Aramco aims to buy a controlling stake in petrochemical maker SABIC, possibly taking the entire 70 percent stake owned by 黑料社区鈥檚 sovereign wealth fund, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Late last week Aramco confirmed a Reuters report that it was working on a possible purchase of a 鈥渟trategic stake鈥� in Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom鈥檚 top sovereign wealth fund.
Aramco鈥檚 initial thinking is to buy the full stake owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), but if that fails to materialize Aramco could end up with a stake in SABIC of more than 50 percent, making it a majority owner, the sources said.
No final decision has been made on the size of the stake as the discussions are still at a very early stage, they added.
Aramco declined to comment. The PIF did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Riyadh-listed SABIC, the world鈥檚 fourth-biggest petrochemicals firm, has a market capitalization of 385.2 billion Saudi riyals ($103 billion).
The potential acquisition would affect the time frame of Aramco鈥檚 planned initial public offering set for later this year, the state oil giant鈥檚 chief executive, Amin Nasser, said in a TV interview on Friday.
Aramco plans to boost investments in refining and petrochemicals to secure new markets and sees growth in chemicals as central to its downstream strategy to cut the risk of an oil demand slowdown.
Aramco plans to raise its refining capacity to between 8 million and 10 million barrels per day, from around 5 million bpd now, and double its petrochemicals production by 2030.
Aramco, the world鈥檚 largest oil producer, pumps around 10 million bpd of crude oil.