SABIC to pursue China expansion drive despite slowdown: Al-Benyan

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is expanding in China to tap potential growth opportunities despite an expected economic slowdown in the country, vice chairman and CEO, Yousef Al-Benyan, told CNBC on Tuesday.

“From a SABIC perspective, we look at China as long-term,” Al-Benyan said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2019 in Davos, referring to the impact of ongoing trade war between China and the United States.

“I think Asia is growing and China is really driving this growth. That is why we have improved our presence in China. Specifically, we are trying to put more investment in China because of the growth,” he added.

In September 2018, the petrochemical producer inked a memorandum of understanding with China’s Fuijan provincial government to build a petrochemicals complex, Argaam reported.

SABIC is also a partner in a Sinopec-owned Chinese ethylene plant.