Adnoc launches listing process of Borouge on Abu Dhabi Securities

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), together with its long-standing partner Borealis AG, on Wednesday announced an intention to float 10 per cent of Borouge, their petrochemicals joint venture, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) through an initial public offering (IPO).

The offering is expected to open on May 23, 2022, subject to regulatory approvals and other relevant considerations.

Borouge, established in 1998, combines the strength and experience of Adnoc and Borealis, through ADP, its Operations joint venture, headquartered in Abu Dhabi and PTE, its Sales and Marketing joint venture, headquartered in Singapore.

Today, Borouge is one of the world’s leading providers of innovative and differentiated polyolefin solutions for the agriculture, infrastructure, energy, advanced packaging, mobility and healthcare industries. The Borouge portfolio of products comprises polyethylene and polypropylene, the two most common types of polymers, which are used for various applications such as sustainable packaging, pipes and fittings, wires and cables, automotive and medical applications.

Borouge’s polymer solutions are categorised into two main product segments: consumer solutions and infrastructure solutions.

Consumer solutions include sustainable packaging, medical containers and greenhouse films, while infrastructure solutions include water and gas pipes and cables for power transmission.

Through a potential listing of a minority stake in Borouge, Adnoc is offering investors another highly compelling investment opportunity to invest alongside Adnoc in a company that is set to play a vital role in the sustainable growth for Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

Commenting on the launch of the Borouge IPO process, Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc Managing Director and Group CEO, said, “Together with our long-standing partner Borealis, I am delighted to announce our intention to float a minority stake in Borouge, our petrochemicals joint venture, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

“Following the highly successful listings of Adnoc Distribution, Adnoc Drilling and Fertiglobe, Adnoc is bringing to the market a UAE-based, globally competitive market leader. This world-class business provides cutting-edge manufacturing, consumer and infrastructure solutions and offers innovative technologies. This latest offering will be open to all citizens and residents of the UAE and international and local institutional investors.

“Through Borouge and our recently announced 25% equity investment in Borealis, Adnoc is poised to capitalise on the significant industrial and consumer-led growth in the petrochemicals sector over the coming decades. Today’s proposed listing, our fourth subsidiary to come to market, is another significant milestone in our highly successful value creation and strategic growth journey. Adnoc continues to consistently unlock and maximise value across its integrated upstream and downstream asset base to drive sustainable growth for the benefit of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”

Central to Borouge’s growth strategy will be the continued growth of its product portfolio through innovation, sustainable solutions, new product development and strategic market and geographic expansion. The Company will focus on offering its differentiated product offering and industry-leading innovation capabilities to premium pricing end-markets, including access to and use of Borealis’ Borstar technology, enabling Borouge to offer tailored solutions for demanding end-use applications integral to everyday life.

Borouge will also benefit from Adnoc’s recent equity investment in Borealis, which further expands Adnoc’s long-standing partnership with Borealis while accelerating the delivery of Adnoc’s broader Downstream and Industrial growth programme. Adnoc is well-positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities in the chemicals and petrochemical sector globally, building on its refining and petrochemicals facilities in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi.

Adnoc has already embarked on a major expansion drive in this space, including the recently announced Borouge 4 complex and the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais.

Through its subsidiaries, Borouge already operates one of the world’s largest integrated polyolefins complexes in Ruwais, and has a diverse regional footprint of logistics hubs, warehouses and gateways across the MENA region, Europe, and Asia, as well as a Compounding Manufacturing Plant in Shanghai, which compounds resins from the Ruwais plant for, amongst others, the Asian automotive industry and other markets including medical and hygiene.

Over the last six years, Adnoc has actively managed its businesses and capital, as well as successfully developed a more open, flexible and innovative partnership model across its integrated upstream and downstream value chain. This value creation and growth strategy is enabled by a $122 billion (Dhs447.7 billion) capital investment programme across the Group between 2021 to 2025.

Through the listing of minority stakes in select operating businesses, initiated with the successful IPO of Adnoc Distribution in 2017, and followed by the largest and third largest-ever ADX listings to date with Adnoc Drilling and Fertiglobe respectively in October 2021, Adnic is broadening its investor base and access to capital, while also supporting the continued growth and expansion of the UAE’s private sector and capital markets.

WAM