RIYADH: SABIC SK Nexlene Co., a joint venture between Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and SK Geo Centric, have entered into an agreement with the Ulsan Metropolitan City in South Korea to invest in the construction and expansion of high-value chemical products plants.
The 50:50 joint venture SSNC will expand production lines of polyolefin elastomers, also known as POEs. These plants are expected produce high-value materials that are used in cars and solar panel films. This will help reduce the usage of plastics while positively impacting the environment, it said.
SSNC will invest around 200 billion South Korean won ($150 million) through its subsidiary Korea Nexlene by July 2024.
Since its formation in 2015, SSNC has invested $450 million in Korea Nexlene, and it has been annually producing 210,000 tons of Nexlene products.
Upon expansion, the capacity is expected to increase by 43 percent, reaching over 300,000 tons – 90 of which will be exported.
“Nexlene’s self-developed high-value products are used in automotive lightweight materials, solar panels materials, medical packing materials, and so on. Therefore, we are glad to announce this investment, which will enable us to take the lead in global supply,” said Kim Jong-yl, CEO of Korea Nexlene.
