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SABIC and Sinopec Launch Joint Project in Tianjin

FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser/File Photo
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SABIC and Sinopec Launch Joint Project in Tianjin

FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser/File Photo

The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and China's Sinopec have announced the start of the commercial operation of their new polycarbonate plant, located within their equally-owned joint venture Sinopec-SABIC-Tianjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd.

Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd. was established in 2009 and is a vast petrochemical complex consisting of nine world-class manufacturing units designed to produce chemicals, polyethylene and polypropylene.

The production capacity of the new polycarbonate factory, a vital element in SABIC's strategy for growth in the field of polycarbonate production in China, is 260,000 tons per year, allowing the company to further cooperate with global and local customers, as the operation of the polycarbonate factory represents a new stage in the progress of the joint project between SABIC and Sinopec, and enhances the partners' ability to meet the requirements of the regional polycarbonate market.

SABIC CEO Eng. Abdul Rahman Al-Fageeh said that his company and Sinopec are opening up tremendous and mutual growth opportunities that achieve the goals of the national programs of Saudi Arabia and China.

“Based on our position as one of the largest leading companies in the field of manufacturing Polycarbonate in the world, our first-ever factory in Asia confirms our commitment to operating in markets close to our customers, enabling us to increase the level of service, speed of work and reliability of supplies,” he added.

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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.