Saudi Aramco aims to have major presence in India, China through SABIC

Saudi Aramco, which has acquired Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) for $69 billion, intends to become a major player in petrochemicals, since as per filings, SABIC's Asia assets are concentrated in China and India.

These filings are as per the Saudi Aramco prospectus released on Sunday. The prospectus notes that as per the notes to financial statements of SABIC, significant value of property, plant and equipment in Asia is concentrated in China and India. As per the geographical distribution of assets, 1 per cent of the assets, property, plant and equipment are in Asia while 85 per cent are concentrated in Saudi Arabia.

SABIC has three subsidiaries in India - SABIC India, SABIC Innovative Plastics India and SABIC R&T. While 17 per cent of its revenue comes from China, 22 per cent comes from the rest of Asia.

Aramco also has a wholly-owned subsidiary in India called Aramco Asia India which is engaged in purchasing and other services.

Aramco in March this year entered into a purchase agreement with the PIF to acquire its 70 per cent equity interest in SABIC for total consideration of $69.1 billion. SABIC operates in over 50 countries and produces a range of chemicals, including olefins, ethylene, ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, methanol, MTBE, polyethylene and engineering plastics and their derivatives, among other products.

As per the prospectus, Aramco believes that purchasing a majority interest in SABIC will advance its strategy to increase the proportion of petrochemicals production in its downstream portfolio and support the company's downstream growth ambitions.

In addition, Aramco believes that the acquisition will facilitate the application of SABIC's expertise in the chemicals industry to the company's existing and future integrated downstream facilities.

In the 658 page prospectus, in what is set to be the world's largest IPO and also create the most valued company, Saudi Aramco has highlighted its proposed investments in the RIL in the column for proposed acquisitions.

"The company has recently entered into non-binding agreements regarding the expansion of its downstream business in Asia, including entering into a non-binding letter of intent with Reliance Industries Limited on August 12, 2019 to purchase a 20 per cent stake in its oil to chemicals division".

In addition, Aramco will be expanding into India among the high growth markets as a key growth strategy.

"Furthermore, the company intends to enhance its domestic and global marketing businesses to support the position of its upstream business in key, high-growth geographies, including China, India and Southeast Asia, which are integral to the company's existing business and future expansion strategy".