Riyadh, 23 November 2005

Immediate

2^ND SABIC QUALITY DAY LAUNCHED

(Riyadh, 23 November 2005) SABIC’s 2^nd annual Quality Day was launched today (23 November, 2005), at the Jubail Industrial City Conference Center, under the theme of "Building customer loyalty generation after generation". Present at this special event were senior management from SABIC and its affiliates, as well as senior staff from some other national and regional companies and establishments.

SABIC chose this year’s theme whilst keeping in mind the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, which will entail greater challenges and responsibilities. The importance of quality in business operations will increase in light of the developing new world economic order as well as greater market liberalization and the ongoing increase in competition within domestic and foreign markets.

SABIC has always recognized the vital importance of quality. From its earliest days, the company was keen to comply with the latest in world-class state-of-the-art technologies. SABIC manufacturing plants were well equipped with modern quality laboratories and SABIC intensified its R&T activities to emphasize increased quality in its products and services. As a result, all SABIC affiliates are ISO 2000/9000 certified. In this regard, SABIC launched the FANAR project which primarily focuses on improving the quality of our products and services, whilst helping to build long-term customer relations and loyalty generation after generation. SABIC also shares quality experience with other national and regional companies and establishments through sponsorship, organizing seminars, educational training courses and conferences.

SABIC’s 2^nd Quality Day activities included valuable lectures delivered by experts in their respective fields. In addition, senior staff from SABIC and other local and regional companies provided presentations on some successful quality experiences. Some individuals and work teams were honored for their outstanding and distinct roles in the field of quality.

ENDS

Othman Al-Humaidi

General Manager, Corporate Communications

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is the largest public company in the Middle East, ranked by market capitalization (more than US$ 150 billion), and one of the world’s 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol, MTBE and fertilizers as well as the fourth largest polymer producer.

SABIC’s profit rose to a record SR 14.2 billion (US$ 3.8 billion) in 2004, a 112% increase on 2003 and the company’s highest profit since inception. Sales revenues for 2004 totaled SR 68.5 billion (US$ 18.3 billion), an increase of 47% on revenues in 2003 making SABIC the largest and most profitable public company in the Middle East.

SABIC operates six interlinked strategic business units: Basic Chemicals, Intermediates, Polyolefins, PVC and Polyester, Fertilizers and Metals. The company has significant research resources and has dedicated Research and Technology centers in Riyadh, Geleen in the Netherlands, Houston USA and Vadodara in India. SABIC has more than 16,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC has two large production sites in Saudi Arabia – in Al-Jubail and in Yanbu – comprising 18 world-scale complexes. Some of these complexes are operated with multi-national joint venture partners such as Exxon Mobil, Shell and Mitsubishi Chemicals. SABIC’s overall production capacity has increased from 35.4 million metric tons in 2001 to 42.9 million metric tons of production in 2004.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70% of SABIC shares with the remaining 30% held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

SABIC Europe, headquartered in Sittard, the Netherlands, employs 2,300 and operates two petrochemical production sites in Geleen, the Netherlands and Gelsenkirchen in Germany for the production of polypropylenes, polyethylenes and liquid hydrocarbons. These are marketed by its European network of sales offices and logistical hubs. In 2004, SABIC Europe sold 6 million tons of polymers, base chemicals and intermediates, mainly in the European market.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005