Saudi state-led petrochemicals firm Sabic and Swiss specialty chemicals firm Clariant, in which the Saudi firm is poised to become the largest shareholder by buying almost 25% equity, have signed an MoU for cooperating in establishing a new business for the production of high performance materials.

Sabic says that the chemicals covered by the agreement – Sabic’s polyetherimide and polyphenylene ether resins and polycarbonate compounds and copolymers as well as Clariant’s additives – “will be an exceptional source of growth in the specialties business.” The MoU covers cooperation to June 2019, after which the companies intend to sign an agreement for forming a new unit at the beginning of 2020. Sabic chief executive Yousef al-Benyan told the official SPA news agency that “Clariant and Sabic’s existing specialties businesses are complimentary and the investment in Clariant, together with the intended combination of portions of our respective specialty businesses, is aligned with Sabic’s strategy to open new growth opportunities in specialty chemicals.” (CONTINUED - 275 WORDS)