Sabic’s localisation drive to contribute $3bn to Saudi Arabia's economy

The company has selected 139 investors to start new projects in the kingdom as part of its Nusaned programme

Sabic, the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company, is supporting the growth of local companies in the kingdom through the Nusaned initiative. Photo Sabic

Investors qualified to start new projects under Sabic’s Nusaned initiative are expected to create 10,316 jobs in Saudi Arabia and contribute more than 11.4 billion Saudi riyals ($3.04bn) to the country’s economy.

Sabic, the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company, is directly contributing to the growth of companies in the kingdom through its Nusaned initiative it launched in 2018 and has so far selected 139 investors to start new projects, Sabic said on Wednesday.

“Under Nusaned, we are constantly exploring new business strategies with Saudi entrepreneurs who have an eye for innovative technologies and are committed to environmental excellence in operations,” said Yousef Al Benyan, Sabic vice chairman and chief executive.

“By enabling local investors and supporting commercially viable sectors, our aim is to strengthen our industries and better people’s lives, as envisioned in the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 goals.”

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is focused on diversifying its economy away from oil as part of its Vision 2030 programme. The kingdom is developing projects across sectors including real estate, petrochemicals, transport, hospitality and industries to attract investment and boost employment.

Under the Nusaned programme, investors can start their own ventures from inception to implementation after their proposals are accepted by Sabic. The participants need to demonstrate they have a strong understanding of products and services that meet requirements to be eligible, according to Sabic.

Sabic is also supporting the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to train students and graduates from accredited universities in business entrepreneurship as part of the prorgamme. It also signed a preliminary agreement with the kingdom’s BGI Almanahil Health for Medical Services to localise laboratory equipment for conducting Covid-19 tests.

The company, based in Riyadh, reported a five-fold increase in third-quarter net profit to 5.59bn riyals as revenue rose 29.3 per cent to 43.7bn riyals on the back of higher average selling prices, it said in October.