JEDDAH: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has been in talks with Indian petrochemical players for a joint venture to tap the huge potential of the Indian market with cracker projects and downstream refineries, Ahmed Alumar, vice president Asia Pacific and member of the board of directors of SABIC Asia Pacific, said. "India is an equally important market for us like China and we are looking at similar investments, if required, in India. It is early to reveal more details and names of companies we are discussing with." Alumar said SABIC was planning to expand its research and technology center in Baroda. The facility will be ready by the year-end or early 2012. India, which imports over $22 billion of petrochemical products ever year, offers SABIC the perfect platform to tap the potential for its core business areas like chemicals, fertilizers, innovative plastics, polymers and performance chemicals, he said. SABIC has been operating in India since 1994. "Actually we started business with India before we did with China. India is very near to Saudi Arabia than China and it is like a home environment for us here," Alumar said. SABIC had entered into a 50:50 joint venture with China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) two years ago to construct a three million tons per annum capacity petrochemical complex at Tianjin. It had invested over $2.5 billion in the project. SABIC and Sinopec are also planning further cooperation and investments in various areas. SABIC has 10 manufacturing facilities in China, while its investments in India are limited to facility and technology centers it acquired in Baroda and Bangalore through its global acquisition of GE's plastics division.
