SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, will invest $6.4 billion in the SABIC Fujian Petrochemical Complex (Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project) in China’s Fujian province, making it the largest foreign investment by far made in the province and demonstrating the Saudi giant's growing footprint in China.

It will be developed by SABIC Fujian Petrochemicals, a 51:49 joint venture between SABIC Industrial Investment Company (wholly owned by SABIC) and Fujian Fuhua Gulei Petrochemical (holding by Fujian Energy and Petrochemical Group).

The complex will consist of a mixed feed steam cracker, with an expected annual ethylene capacity up to 1.8 million tonnes, with a series of world-class downstream facilities, including ethylene glycol (EG), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), and several other units. The construction of the project targets to complete in 2026.

Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC's CEO, said: "The project aims to support our goal of diversifying our feedstock sources and establishing a petrochemical manufacturing presence in Asia for a wide range of products, and the final investment decision (FID) decision fully reflects SABIC’s commitment to provide solutions to our customers and maximize shareholders value. Building on this, we will continue to capitalisse on our partnerships to expand our footprint and continue to contribute to the targets of Saudi’s Vision 2030."

The construction and operation of the project is using nine of SABIC’s leading technologies to meet the evolving demand for high-end chemical products for applications in electrical and electronics, artificial intelligence, smartphones, telecommunications, healthcare, automobile and advanced materials.

The FID marks the second key milestone related to SABIC’s joint ventures in recent years, following the start of commercial operation for a new polycarbonate plant at the Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical (SSTPC) in 2023.