KUWAIT: Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) has acquired 49 percent of operations of South Korea's SKC, and the two firms agreed to establish a joint company producing propylene Oxide (PO) and propylene glycol (PG). "The acquisition is part of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's (KPC) strategy to boost its international petrochemical investments, particularly core petrochemical products with high added value," KPC CEO Hashem Sayyed Hashem said in a statement yesterday.

He said this partnership with SKC also included acquisition of 45 percent of SKC Evonik Peroxide Korea. PIC CEO Mutlaq Al-Azmi said the partnership with SKC aimed at diversifying PIC's international portfolio with the aim of securing better revenues and addressing fluctuation of prices. SKC had $2.5 billion revenues last year. The company's assets registered $3.5 billion in first quarter this year. SKC, whose main operations are in PO and PG production, exports products to more than 60 countries. - KUNA