SABIC sets stage for new Indian ventures

Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao met Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) Chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah to bolster economic links and briefed him on investment opportunities in India.
Sibi George, deputy chief of mission, Indian embassy, who accompanied the ambassador, told Arab News that the two sides recalled the strong economic relationship that exists between India and the Kingdom and the role that SABIC plays in promoting that relationship.
SABIC planned to launch four new state-of-the-art technology and innovation facilities in 2013, two in the Kingdom and one each in India and China, bringing the total number of its research facilities around the world to 18.
The SABIC chairman plans to visit India soon for the formal launch of the new state-of-the-art research center in Bangalore.
The four new centers represent a strategic investment of around half a billion US dollars to continuously improve technology, applications and solutions and meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace, as well as address a wide variety of sustainability issues.
SABIC has a research and development center in Bangalore and has regional offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
During the meeting Rao briefed Prince Saud, who is also the chairman of royal commission for Jubail and Yanbu, on the investment opportunities in India including in the petrochemical and infrastructure sector.
A presentation focussing on the upcoming projects in India including Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), OpaL Petrochemical Complex, Gujarat, Petrochemical Complex at Mangalore, Karnataka, IOCL’s LNG Project at Ennore, Tamil Nadu, Paradip Petrochemical Project of IOCL at Paradip, Orissa, Kochi Petrochemical Project BPCL and other upcoming mega projects in the field of roads, power generation, other surface transportation, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), ports and water was made during the meeting, the DCM informed.
He said the meeting was in line with the ‘Riyadh Declaration’ signed during the course of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Saudi Arabia in Feb 2010, when the two countries agreed to a mutually beneficial path of progress and development and which also elevated the level of bilateral interaction to a new era of “Strategic Partnership” focusing on political, economic, security and defense areas.
He said 500 professionals would get jobs in the new center in Bangalore.
According to Indian embassy, Saudi Arabia is the 4th largest trading partner for India and the trade volume in 2012-13 was $43.8 billion which is all set to increase further in the current financial year.
The Kingdom is also the largest supplier of crude oil to India as it provides 19 percent of India's crude imports.
Today, India is the third largest economy in terms of GDP on PPP terms and by 2020, its consumer spending is estimated to touch $3.6 trillion, the embassy statistics suggest.