Saudi Arabia’s SABIC to Build Engineering Thermoplastics Compounding Plant in China

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC signs a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government (SABIC website)
Saudi Arabia’s SABIC signs a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government (SABIC website)
TT

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC to Build Engineering Thermoplastics Compounding Plant in China

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC signs a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government (SABIC website)
Saudi Arabia’s SABIC signs a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government (SABIC website)

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, signed a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government to build an engineering thermoplastics compounding plant in China’s Fujian Province.

“The new investment further underscores SABIC’s efforts to meet the unique requirements for differentiated innovative solutions from its local customers in China while strengthening its roots in the Chinese market and its contributions to the high-quality and sustainable development of the chemical industry,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This investment agreement marks another significant milestone for SABIC’s growth in China and reflects our continued confidence in investing in the country,” SABIC CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh said.

“By creating synergy with upstream and downstream partners, the project aims to strengthen our supply capability in compounding products and serve this important strategic market with innovative and consistently high-quality material solutions,” he added.

The planned compounding plant will be located in the Gulei Port Economic Development Zone, Zhangzhou, Fujian.

It will primarily produce pelletized LEXAN™ Polycarbonate (PC) and CYCOLOY™ PC/ABS blends for use in advanced materials tailored to the needs of industries including electrical and consumer electronics, automotive, and emerging sectors such as solar energy, electrification, and 5G.

In addition to the planned engineering thermoplastics compounding plant, SABIC operates a SABIC Technology Center in Shanghai and three compounding plants in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing, alongside operations in 17 cities across Greater China.



IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
TT

IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the third review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion bailout on Saturday but warned that the economy remains vulnerable.
In a statement, the global lender said it would release about $333 million, bringing total funding to around $1.3 billion, to the crisis-hit South Asian nation. It said signs of an economic recovery were emerging, Reuters reported.
In a note of caution, it said "the critical next steps are to complete the commercial debt restructuring, finalize bilateral agreements with official creditors along the lines of the accord with the Official Creditor Committee and implement the terms of the other agreements. This will help restore Sri Lanka's debt sustainability."
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending inflation soaring to 70%, its currency to record lows and its economy contracting by 7.3% during the worst of the fallout and by 2.3% last year.
"Maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring debt sustainability are key to securing Sri Lanka's prosperity and require persevering with responsible fiscal policy," the IMF said.
The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilize economic conditions. The rupee has risen 11.3% in recent months and inflation disappeared, with prices falling 0.8% last month.
The island nation's economy is expected to grow 4.4% this year, the first increase in three years, according to the World Bank.
However, Sri Lanka still needs to complete a $12.5 billion debt restructuring with bondholders, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aims to finalize in December.
Sri Lanka will enter into individual agreements with bilateral creditors including Japan, China and India needed to complete a $10 billion debt restructuring, Dissanayake said.
He won the presidency in September, and his leftist coalition won a record 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in a general election last week.