SK Group Seeks New Business Partnerships with Oil Producers of Middle East

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (L) meets with Youself Abdullah Al-Benyan (C), vice chairman of SABIC, in Riyadh on Nov. 22, 2016. (image: SK Group)

SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s SK Group will work with oil producers of the Middle East to find new business models beyond developing petroleum products, the conglomerate said Thursday. 

The group’s chairman Chey Tae-won, visiting the region this week, met with CEOs of sovereign funds, oil companies and other partner firms, and discussed areas of new cooperation, according to company officials. 

In talks Wednesday (local time) with the chiefs of United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Development Co. and oil company Mubadala Petroleum in Abu Dhabi, Chey proposed that they pursue new joint businesses in areas such as technology, capital and marketing that go beyond resource development, SK officials said. 

“The persisting low oil prices demand fundamental changes and innovation in the energy and petrochemical industries,” Chey was quoted as saying. 

His UAE counterparts agreed to continue to find business opportunities in which the parties can cooperate, officials said. 

The Mubadala Development Co. has a broad investment portfolio containing energy, consumer products and health care, as well as information, communication and technology (ICT). SK Group sees potential for synergy in the energy and ICT sectors, officials said. The South Korean conglomerate also wants to work together to develop resources in third countries, such as nations in Southeast Asia. 

Chey on Tuesday met with Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan, vice chairman of SABIC, a leading petrochemicals manufacturer based in Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh to discuss global expansion for their joint venture Nexlene Co. SK Global Chemical and SABIC opened a nexlene plant in South Korea’s southeastern city of Ulsan in October last year and are planning a second factory in Saudi Arabia to push their way into third markets, including China and North America.

(Yonhap)