Qatar mulls US$5 bln investment in petrochemicals complex in Malaysia

29-Jan-13

50% of the US$10 bln that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to spend is expected to be invested in Malaysia on a petrochemicals complex aimed at transforming the Southeast Asian nation into a global hub for the oil and gas trade, as per Reuters. "We are in discussions about this. We may invest up to $5 billion in the next three to four years into petrochemical projects here (in Pengerang)," Qatar Holding LLC vice chairman Hussain Ali al-Abdulla told reporters. The Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex in the southern state of Johor is expected to help Malaysia compete with neighbouring Singapore to become the region's top petrochemical hub. "Qatar Holding's total investment exposure to Malaysia will eventually exceed $10 billion in various sectors," he added. Pengerang is expected to accumulate 170 billion ringgit ($55.84 billion) in investments by the time it begins operations in 2016. The complex includes the 60-billion-ringgit Petronas Refinery and Petrochemicals (RAPID) project by state-owned oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd.