Sabic is the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company. Reuters
Sabic is the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company. Reuters
Sabic is the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company. Reuters
Sabic is the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals company. Reuters

Sabic shareholders approve $1.6bn dividend for second half of 2022


Alkesh Sharma
  • English
  • Arabic

The board of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), the Middle East's biggest petrochemicals company, approved a dividend of 6 billion Saudi riyals ($1.6 billion) for the second half of 2022, as the company continues to post profits amid a market recovery.

The second-half cash dividend is 2 riyals a share, Sabic said in a statement on Tuesday to the Tadawul Stock Exchange, where its shares are traded.

The dividend will be distributed to shareholders “who own the company shares on the eligibility date and enrolled in the company's register at Securities Depository Centre Company (Edaa) by the end of the second trading day following the due date … corresponding to March 13, 2023”, the company said.

Sabic has called upon its shareholders to update their data and ensure that their bank account numbers are linked to their investment portfolios to ensure that their dividends are deposited into their accounts.

Sabic reported a 3.8 per cent increase in second-quarter profit as revenue rose on higher average selling prices and volumes.

Net profit after zakat and tax for the three months to the end of June increased to 7.93 billion riyals, from 7.64 billion riyals in the same period last year.

Revenue during the period rose 32 per cent year-on-year to nearly 56 billion riyals.

Manufacturers of chemicals such as Sabic have benefited from an overall rise in demand for chemicals and feedstocks as economic activity ramps up amid a relaxation of movement curbs and a fall in Covid infections globally.

Looking ahead to the second half of this year, Sabic expects its margins to be under pressure due to a slowdown in global economic growth, lockdowns in China, conflict in Europe and continued supply chain challenges.

Last month, Sabic said it was planning to set up a plant to convert crude oil into petrochemicals, capitalising on growing demand.

The crude-to-chemicals complex in Ras Al Khair, in the east of Saudi Arabia, is expected to convert 400,000 barrels per day of oil into chemicals, the company said.

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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

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United States

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Japan

5

Norway

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Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra

Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi

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Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
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Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

Result:

1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds

2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds

3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds

4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds

5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds

6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

Updated: December 14, 2022, 5:47 AM`