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Saudi Oil Giant Expands Investments Through Local, International Acquisitions

Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Oil Giant Expands Investments Through Local, International Acquisitions

Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Aramco has made a series of local and international acquisitions to expand its business and fulfill its commitment to its partners to achieve its long-term strategy.
On Wednesday, the company announced its acquisition of an additional stake of 22.5% in Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (Petro Rabigh), a refining and petrochemical complex located on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, in a $702 million (SAR 2.63 billion) transaction.
Aramco also signed a definitive agreement to purchase the shares, worth SAR 7 per share, from Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical. Both companies currently each own 37.5% of the shares in Petro Rabigh, which was listed on the Saudi Exchange in 2008.
In March, Aramco successfully completed the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Esmax Distribución SpA (“Esmax”), a leading diversified downstream fuels and lubricants retailer in Chile. Esmax has a national presence that includes retail fuel stations, airport operations, fuel distribution terminals and a lubricant blending plant.

In September 2023, Aramco signed definitive agreements to acquire a strategic minority stake in MidOcean Energy for $500 million. MidOcean Energy is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors.
This strategic partnership with MidOcean Energy marked Aramco’s first international investment in LNG.
Moreover, in May 2024, Aramco made further progress in its global retail expansion by completing the acquisition of a 40% equity stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. (“GO”).
GO is a diversified downstream fuels, lubricants and retail store operator in Pakistan with a network of more than 1,200 retail fuel stations. The acquisition, first announced in December 2023, represented Aramco’s first downstream retail investment in Pakistan and signaled the company’s growing retail presence in high-value markets.
In June this year, Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”).
HORSE Powertrain Limited was formed on May 31, 2024, by Renault Group and Geely and is incorporated and headquartered in London.
Commenting on the signing of the recent agreement with Petro Rabigh, Hussain Al-Qahtani, Aramco Senior Vice President of Fuels, said: “Aramco continues to identify opportunities to strengthen its downstream value chain, secure placement of its upstream crude oil with affiliated refineries, and convert more of its hydrocarbons into high-value materials.”
He continued: “By increasing our shareholding, we expect to achieve even closer integration with Petro Rabigh and facilitate its turnaround strategy. We look forward to building on our existing relationship with Petro Rabigh, in alignment with our strategic goals.”

 

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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has made history by uniting the 193 member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to adopt the Riyadh Treaty on Design Law. This landmark achievement, realized after two decades of deliberation, underscores the Kingdom’s leadership in enhancing the global intellectual property system.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty, a rare event for WIPO, which has not held a diplomatic conference outside Geneva for more than a decade. It was also the first such event hosted in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, representing the final stage of negotiations to establish an agreement aimed at simplifying and standardizing design protection procedures across member states.

Over the past two weeks, intensive discussions and negotiations among member states culminated in the adoption of the Riyadh Treaty, which commits signatory nations to a unified set of requirements for registering designs, ensuring consistent and streamlined procedures worldwide. The agreement is expected to have a significant positive impact on designers, enabling them to protect their creations more effectively and uniformly across international markets.

At a press conference held on Friday to mark the event’s conclusion, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem highlighted the economic potential of the new protocol.

Responding to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Suwailem noted the substantial contributions of young Saudi men and women in creative design. He explained that the agreement will enable their designs to be formally protected, allowing them to enter markets as valuable, tradable assets.

He also emphasized the symbolic importance of naming the convention the Riyadh Treaty, stating that it reflects Saudi Arabia’s growing influence as a bridge between cultures and a global center for innovative initiatives.

The treaty lays critical legal foundations to support designers and drive innovation worldwide, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s vision of promoting international collaboration in the creative industries and underscoring its leadership in building a sustainable future for innovators.

The agreement also advances global efforts to enhance creativity, protect intellectual property, and stimulate innovation on a broader scale.

This achievement further strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for groundbreaking initiatives, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing creativity, safeguarding designers’ rights, and driving the development of creative industries on an international scale.

The Riyadh Diplomatic Conference, held from November 11 to 22, was hosted by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and attracted high-ranking officials and decision-makers from WIPO member states.