Al KHOBAR: Five international engineering firms have bid to build a 50,000 tonnes-per-year polyacetal plant at Ibn Sina, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), industry sources said.
Sabic said in 2010 the project, producing a plastic which is mainly used in the car industry, would require investment of nearly $400m.
Spain’s Dragados, China National Chemical Engineering Co (CNCEC), Taiwan’s CTCI, South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering and SK Engineering and Construction have all made bids.
Bidding closed on November 28 after it was extended from an October deadline, the sources said.
National Methanol Co, better known as Ibn Sina, is 50-percent owned by Sabic, the world’s largest chemical company, while Celanese Corp and an affiliate of Duke Energy Corp each have a 25 percent-stake.
The plant was originally planned to start up by 2013 with engineering and construction work beginning by 2011.
Sabic’s CEO said last month the company has given the go-ahead for the polyacetal plant, which will use methanol feedstock from Ibn Sina.
Some Saudi petrochemical companies have said they have faced difficulties sourcing feedstock supplies for new projects as the oil-rich kingdom balances their claims for gas supplies against the need to use it for power generation.
Saudi Mobily gets regulator nod for bonus share issue
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock market regulator has approved a 10 percent bonus share issue by telecom operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), according to a statement on the kingdom’s bourse yesterday.
Mobily will now hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting within the next six months to confirm the share issue, with those holding stocks at the close of bourse trading on that day qualifying, the statement said.
The operator, an affiliate of the United Arab Emirates’ Etisalat, will give shareholders one new bonus share for every 10 held. This will raise the number of shares issued to 770 million from 700 million.
Each share has a nominal value of 10 riyals, meaning Mobily’s capital will increase to SR7.7bn ($2.05bn) from SR7bn currently.
Agencies
