Please provide an update on Borouge’s activities and milestones achieved over the past year?

Borouge is a leading provider of innovative and differentiated polyolefin solutions, operating out of one of the largest single-site integrated polyolefin complexes worldwide. We successfully started up our fifth polypropylene unit (PP5) in Ruwais in early 2022, which enabled us to bring another 480,000 t/y online, increasing our annual polypropylene production capacity by more than 25%, and our polymer capacity of polyolefins by 11%.

Our key markets are the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, which represent about 68% of the total polyolefin market globally, with polyolefin market growth at over 80% in these regions.

Over the past 25 years, Borouge has built a strong brand. Borealis’ Borstar technology allows us to provide a differentiated and innovative range of polyethylene and polypropylene solutions, tailored to the specific needs of our customers. Borealis’ Borstar technology also provides us with a competitive edge as it can be operated at scale and with low operating expenditure. Our differentiated product portfolio and efforts in innovation have allowed us to achieve premium prices versus commodity benchmarks.

In June 2022, Borouge was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. More recently in June 2023, the company was included in the prestigious Forbes’ Global 2000 list as one of the largest companies globally based on our performance in terms of profits, sales, assets, and market value. Today, Borouge has a strong cash conversion with a solid balance sheet, and we reiterate our commitment to pay US$1.3 billion in dividends for 2023.

In terms of Borouge’s portfolio, approximately 40% of our sales go to the infrastructure segments such as pipe, wire, and cable, and this is where we are more resilient against market volatility in terms of demand and prices. Building on cost optimization activities, we announced a Value Enhancement Program in 2023, designed to enable Borouge to pursue future growth opportunities, achieve healthy margins and premiums versus benchmark pricing, and further enhance our competitive positioning. This program is expected to deliver US$400 million in cost efficiencies and revenue optimization by the end of 2023 and reinforces Borouge’s 2030 strategy for growth, which focuses on strengthening our market position by growing production capacity, pursuing operational excellence, and offering differentiated and more sustainable products to customers. How does Borouge incorporate circular economy solutions in its activities?

A major part of our business is focused on durable products, which have a lifetime of up to 50 or more years. The company continues to provide and further develop fully recyclable solutions, and we have achieved our ambition to add recyclates to our product portfolio. We continue to develop new ways to reduce material use, extend the durability of products, promote new designs that enhance reuse and recycling, and encourage the use of recyclates where possible across our value chain. ​​​​​​​​

Borouge provides innovative materials for sustainable pipe systems, reliable energy networks, and advanced food-preserving packaging. Our PP5 unit will strengthen the company’s offering of sustainable, innovative, and differentiated products. We are actively developing advanced mono-material designs which will enable post-consumer packaging to be easily recycled. While most of our developments focus on reducing carbon footprint, either by reducing product weight or improving cycle times to reduce energy consumption associated with manufacturing and transportation, all our product innovations optimize the intrinsic benefits of polymers, and in particular, leverage the value of Borealis’ Borstar technology.

Borouge also has campaigns that raise awareness about circular economy and encourages community engagement. One such initiative is Project STOP, which partners with cities and governments to build effective and circular waste management systems eliminating the leakage of waste into the environment and ocean. Co-founded by Borealis and Systemiq, Borouge was a strategic partner in the first phase of the initiative. Another program, Polymers on the Move, inspires real behavioral change by educating the younger generation about responsible plastic use, recycling, and the importance of a circular economy. Do you have a final message?

Borouge’s main focus is on differentiated polyolefin applications, rather than overall general applications. By delivering our new innovative polyolefin solutions to our value chain partners, we make a positive impact on society and enable everyday life.

Borouge is also committed to protecting and promoting the well-being of our people, and we aim to consistently outperform the industry's benchmark for occupational safety.