After good performance, SABIC may restructure plastic unit loan

Petrochemical maker SABIC Basic Industries Corp. is considering restructuring the loans held by its SABIC Innovative Plastics unit because of improvements in global borrowing conditions.

SABIC purchased the unit from General Electric Co. in 2007 for approximately US$11.5 billion, US$6.6 billion of which came from a term loan.

According to SABIC vice-chairman and CEO Mohamed al-Mad, the environment for restructuring the loan within SABIC IP is now reasonable, given the unit’s improved financials.

The Riyad, Saudi Arabia-based company reported profits of US$1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2010, and increase of 46 per cent. According to a statement, the good performance is the result of higher prices and increased demand as well as “improvements in the performance of overseas affiliates”.