Saudi petrochemicals firm Sabic sold $1bn in corporate bonds on 3 September. The company sold $500mn of 10-year notes at 155 basis points over midswaps and $500mn of 30-year securities with a 3% yield, according to news agency reports. Petroleum sector funding requirements have increased due to the global Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on consumption and an earlier Opec+ led oil price collapse, which undermined petchems firms’ crude-linked selling prices (MEES, 13 March).
Sabic did not announce the bonds issue, but its recent 2Q20 results showed a third quarterly loss in a row and it predicts no economic turnaround until next year (MEES, 14 August). Sabic had already hunkered down after a 1Q20 loss of $280mn, which led it to suspend all capital spending except for “non-discretionary capex for safe and reliable operations and late stage projects” (MEES, 8 May). State-led petroleum firm Aramco recently spent $69.1bn buying 70% of Sabic from sovereign wealth fund PIF (MEES, 19 June). (CONTINUED - 151 WORDS)