The Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has announced cash dividends of SR15 [U.S. $4] per share and distribution of bonus shares to stakeholders. The dividends total SR4.5 billion [$1.2 billion], or 30 percent of the book value of SABIC's original capitalization of SR15 billion [$4 billion]. The announcement was made Saturday at SABIC's Annual General Meeting in Riyadh chaired by Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan Al-Saud, who is also Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. The Saudi government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). SABIC is the largest company in the Middle East by market capitalization and the 11th largest petrochemicals manufacturer in the world.

Prince Saud bin Thunayan commended SABIC's accomplishments during 2004 as contributing to the nation’s balance of payments. In 2004 SABIC's profits rose to a record SR14.25 billion ($3.80 billion), a 113 percent increase over 2003. Sales revenues for 2004 totaled SR68.738 billion ($18.4 billion), an increase of 47 percent over 2003.

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