FAQ

SABIC is a public company: 70% of its shares are owned by the Government of Saudi Arabia, and the other 30% are owned by private shareholders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.

SABIC’s headquarters is in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Our new building was opened in October 2002 by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who was then the Crown Prince.

Please see the pages detailing Our Sustainability section.

• The Middle East
• Asia (South East Asia, Japan and China) 
• North America 
• Europe

SABIC was established by royal decree in September 1976.

At the moment we would prefer to leave this matter to the Government and the Privatization Committee.

The Fanar project was completed in May 2005; however its values are now an integral part of the way in which SABIC goes about its business. Fanar changed the way SABIC does its business.

Fanar, the Arabic word for ‘lighthouse’, is the symbol that SABIC has adopted for its global business transformation project – a pre-configured SAP package, incorporating good business practices in the chemical industry.

Fanar is about strengthening SABIC's competitiveness using information technology (IT) and by exporting good business practices to all its operations. It is about customer satisfaction, and internal and external efficiencies. Fanar has brought SABIC up to speed with the IT-driven global economy, and it will secure SABIC's future in a global marketplace that is getting tougher and more competitive by the day. The company has successfully implemented Fanar using SAP technology at the company’s headquarters in Riyadh, and in sales offices in Asia Pacific and Europe. This means that Fanar is now working over three different locations and in three different time zones.

This helps SABIC to make decisions significantly faster, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

Our aim is to become the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of petrochemical and metal products. We are ambitious and competitive, and we will achieve our aim by supplying high-quality industrial products and services to our customers, and by satisfying the expectations of our shareholders.

We will use our natural resources and human talent to their best advantage by innovating, educating and using the latest technology. This care for people and natural resources is reflective of our standards. SABIC prides itself on its integrity, and we set ourselves the highest standards in relation to business practices, safety and the care of the environment. We will not compromise these standards.

SABIC was created in 1976 largely to further Saudi Arabia’s aspirations as a developing nation. Today, we are still committed to developing the country’s natural resources and to improving the skills and education of its people, while respecting Saudi cultural values – as we respect the values of every country in which we work.

In 1980, only 790 people worked for SABIC. Today, we employ over 17,000 people. We believe around 100,000 jobs have been created in related industries in the Saudi economy as a result of SABIC's activity. For example, there are now over 500 plastics manufacturers in the Kingdom whereas 25 years ago this was only a fledgling industry. Some 85% of our employees are Saudi nationals.

There are a number of reasons for considering overseas manufacturing locations. Our strategy of ‘cross-national development’ means that we focus on developing the most relevant technology in the most relevant location. Producers will be closer to their customers and will be better able to meet their demands. From a marketing perspective, local producers will have access to local industry expertise, enjoy greater market penetration and be perceived as familiar companies, ones that employ local people and are part of the local economy.

SABIC wants to keep its business on solid foundations. By building our industries close to the raw materials they use we can achieve this aim, and enhance our market position by further expansion into other countries. SABIC aims not just to ship its products to every region of the world, but to manufacture the products in many of those regions.

We expect robust growth in Saudi Arabia's petrochemical industry in the years to come. SABIC will continue to play a major role in the Kingdom's petrochemical industry, though private-sector participation will also grow.

Globally, we will continue to see a number of long-term trends – principally, the consolidation of the industry into fewer and fewer players. We intend to be one of them. The Middle East has replaced North America as the world's largest net exporter of ethylene and its derivatives. The abundance of hydrocarbon resources and the existence of well developed logistics and infrastructure favor future petrochemical growth in the region.

We will reliably provide good-value, high-quality products and services for our ever-growing ranks of customers in over 100 countries. Our ambitious plans for expansion are matched by the development of an infrastructure of manufacturing plants, distribution centers, offices and storage facilities worldwide.

We closely monitor industrial developments in all markets and seek expansion either by joint venture, acquisition or start-up wherever a suitable opportunity arises.

SABIC’s financial policies are all designed to help achieve our objective of becoming a leading global petrochemicals company.

Our core policy is to streamline financial procedures in all operations, with a focus on increasing efficiencies and reducing costs. Examples of this include developing a single IT system for all offices and affiliates, creating uniform business practices and auditing production plants to remove bottlenecks and increase cost-effectiveness. In these initiatives we are often supported by syndicates of local, regional and international banks.

New technology is vital to SABIC’s plans. It is one of the cornerstones of our business strategy.

Our three-pronged technology and innovation strategy focuses on technology development, technical support to customers and improving manufacturing processes. Scientists and researchers also work closely with the strategic business units and manufacturing affiliates on environmental-management and engineering projects.

The aim of the reorganization was to secure a more competitive position in the rapidly changing global petrochemicals industry and to achieve greater market penetration for all our products in key existing and emerging markets.

The new strategic business units are customer-oriented, able to respond quickly and effectively to changing market conditions and changes in customers’ needs. The new strategic business units each operate as standalone business and are more efficient, with clear sales objectives and a leaner management structure.

This helps us to be more responsive, to make decisions faster and to keep costs down. All these factors lead to better financial performance for SABIC as a whole.

Our strategy of entering into joint ventures and building long-term partnerships has stood us in good stead in all the markets we now operate in. We will, however, examine all opportunities that are relevant to our business.

Joint ventures, acquisitions, mergers and start-ups are all potential means of expanding our business globally.

You can currently only buy shares in SABIC if you are a national of one of the Gulf Cooperation Council states or residing in Saudi Arabia.

Our main markets for PVC and polyester are Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and Asia (China and the Far East).

Polyolefins are additionally marketed throughout Europe.

Our main markets for gases are Saudi Arabia and the GCC states.

Metals are additionally marketed in North Africa and Asia. p>

• Saudi Arabia and GCC states
• India
• The Far East and South East Asia
• Australia
• North America

• Saudi Arabia, GCC states and the Middle East
• Western Europe
• Asia (China and South East Asia)
• India
• North and South America
• Africa

Please see our Products section for more details.

They are divided into four categories. Click on each to find out more about the products.

• Chemicals
• Plastics
• Fertilizers
• Metals