Saudi Aramco says reports on SABIC stake ‘entirely speculative’

LONDON: Media reports on a potential transaction between Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) were “entirely speculative,” the state energy firm said on Thursday.
It follows media speculation in recent weeks about a potential deal involving the purchase of the petrochemicals giant by Aramco.
“Saudi Aramco will provide updates when appropriate,” the national oil company tweeted, without mentioning which reports it referred to or the media outlets concerned.

Saudi Aramco in July denied interest in acquiring an ownership position at SABIC in July, but said it was in “very early-stage discussions” with the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to acquire a stake in SABIC via a private transaction.
“Saudi Aramco has no plans to acquire any publicly held shares of SABIC,” it had said, adding that appropriate announcements would be made in compliance with “applicable regulations.”