Leadership Insights - Chairman

However, SABIC demonstrated great resolve and weathered the severe business environment with strong operational resilience and a robust balance sheet. This underlying performance is directly attributable to the efforts of our employees, who in the face of extraordinary adversity, exhibited exceptional focus to delivering the business plan and maintaining operational excellence.

During the year, Saudi Aramco completed the acquisition of the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) 70% stake in SABIC. This momentous acquisition brought together world-class portfolios and enhances SABIC’s competitive positioning globally. The resulting tangible synergies in key areas of growth projects, joint ventures, and service delivery models will enable SABIC to drive increased value.

Health and safety are a top priority for SABIC and significant actions were taken during the pandemic to safeguard our people, including the introduction of extensive workplace precautions and remote working. Fulfilling our commitment to the communities in which we operate, we provided both financial and equipment support to help minimize the impact of the pandemic.

Our Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) priorities are underpinned by a commitment to create a globally sustainable business and are linked to leadership performance incentives. The success of our brand-building efforts was also evident as SABIC moved up to become the second most valuable brand in the chemical industry, according to the Brand Finance rankings.

In support of Vision 2030, our NUSANED™ program is enabling localization through economic growth, diversification, and job creation in the Kingdom. In addition, our global partnerships and presence in more than 50 countries around the world continue to attract international investments and expertise to the Kingdom.

In 2020, our ongoing transformation program resulted in the reorganization of our Agri-Nutrients and Specialties businesses. The changes will provide the necessary focus to create additional efficiencies and build long-term growth.

On behalf of the board, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Jarbou and the outgoing SABIC board members for their leadership and service. Their contributions have cemented SABIC’s position as a market leader in the industry. Also, we welcome our new Board members who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and diversified experience.

Finally, I would like to thank the SABIC leadership team and our employees for navigating through a very difficult 2020, and look forward to enhanced shareholder contributions in the coming years.