Gulf companies are investing in several South East Asian petrochemical projects due to the rising demand for petrochemical products in the region.
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) plans to commit US$ 5 billion investment in the Pengerang Integrated Petrochemical Complex in Malaysia, while the Saudi Aramco has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) with PT Pertamina (Persero), Indonesia’s state oil and gas company, to jointly build an integrated refining and petrochemical project in Indonesia.
Vice-president of marketing, supply and joint venture coordination of Saudi Aramco, Mr. Dawood M Dawood told fibre2fashion, “The project represents an opportunity for the company to partner with Pertamina and to capitalize on investment opportunities in Indonesia’s growing downstream industry.”
“The MoU also increases prospects for industrialization and economic diversification in Indonesia,” he adds.
Talking about the partnership, director of investment planning and risk management of Pertamina, Mr. M Afdal Bahaudin says, “The cooperation with Saudi Aramco will strengthen the petrochemical supply to satisfy the huge domestic demand for petrochemical products in Southeast Asia.”
Earlier, the vice-president of QIA’s global investment house-Qatar Holdings (LLC), Mr. Hussain Ali al-Abdulla had said that initially the authority is planning to make an investment of US$ 5 billion in the Malaysian petrochemical complex and gradually increase it to US$ 10 billion in different sectors.
