Kuwait plans to offer Dow's stake in two JVs to the public

17-Nov-14

Kuwait plans to offer to the public the shares in Kuwaiti joint ventures which US petrochem major Dow Chemical Co plans to sell off, state news agency KUNA quoted a senior Kuwaiti executive as saying. As per Reuters, Dow announced last week that as part of a US$7-8.5 billion divestiture plan, it would reduce its equity positions in all of its Kuwaiti ventures, in order to release capital for other strategic purposes. This includes stake in EQUATE, a tie-up with the Kuwaiti government's Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) and two other local partners, Boubyan Petrochemical Co and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company. EQUATE produces over 5 mln tons of petrochemical products annually. Dow Chemical's other joint ventures in the country include Kuwait Olefins Co, which owns an ethane cracker and an ethylene glycol production unit, and Kuwait Styrene Co, which makes styrene monomer.