SABIC in talks with banks for dollar bond issue: report

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Saudi Arabia's biggest petrochemicals producer, is in talks with banks for a potential US dollar-denominated bond, Reuters reported, citing banking sources.

BNP Paribas, Citi, MUFG and Standard Chartered are expected to lead the new bond deal, but the petchem firm has approached other lenders over the past week, said a source.

HSBC has been mandated to arrange the upcoming transaction, the report added.

Earlier this year, SABIC raised a $3 billion bridge loan which is believed to have been partially used to buy a 25 percent stake in the Swiss specialty chemicals group Clariant in January.

The new bond issue is likely to replace that facility, sources added.

In April, Argaam reported that the SABIC posted a net profit of SAR 5.51 billion for the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 5.35 percent year-on-year (YoY), due to higher average selling prices and quantities sold.