Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that Saudi Aramco could stagger its payments for its acquisition of a 70% stake in Saudi chemicals giant Sabic, according to Bloomberg.
“We are negotiating with the PIF on what are the payment terms,” Al-Falih said. “If the payment terms are extended over a period of time that allows us to pay for a lot of it with self-generated cash.”
“Aramco is the most profitable company in the planet,” Al-Falih added. “Our costs are in the neighbourhood of $4 a barrel, so it has the capacity to generate a lot cash.”
Although it has minimal debt, Saudi Aramco plans to issue an international bond in Q2 2019 and has met with banks to submit loan proposals, Bloomberg reported.
Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of a controlling stake in Sabic serves multiple purposes; it would boost the national oil company’s downstream portfolio, which could help it during a low oil price environment, and it would pour a large amount of money, as much as $70bn into the nation’s Public Investment Fund.Â
