Aramco to invest US$7bil here
Saudi oil company and Petronas in joint venture to develop oil refinery
PUTRAJAYA: Saudi Arabia’s stateowned oil company Aramco is set to invest US$7bil (RM30bil) in Malaysia, making it the single largest investor in the country.
With the investment comes more job opportunities, foreign capital, strengthening of the ringgit in the medium term as well as a strong vote of confidence in the economy, which Malaysia welcomes, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The deal between Aramco and Petronas is expected to be signed today in Kuala Lumpur, witnessed by Najib and Saudi Arabia’s ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
“Negotiations between Aramco and Petronas concluded this morning and a decision was reached.
“Both have agreed on a joint venture to develop and manage an oil refinery at the Rapid (Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development) project in Pengerang, Johor.
“This is a huge and significant investment for the country,” said Najib at a press conference after meetings with King Salman and his delegation at Seri Perdana.
Najib said the agreement was reached after three weeks of “intense” negotiations and described the deal as a “significant and strategic relationship” cemented with Aramco.
“You can see that Malaysia has strong relations with many countries.
“We were accused of selling our sovereignty to China when we received investment from them. I wonder what detractors will say with this investment from Saudi.
“It is not a question of selling our sovereignty but this is about investment.
“This investment will be good for us.”
Najib did not divulge further details on the deal, as more information will be announced at the signing ceremony.
“I just want to confirm the deal. I will leave the details for tomorrow,” he said.
On whether Malaysia was interested in investing in Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO), the Prime Minister said that this was not discussed and would only be considered later.
“For now, we want to focus on (the project in) Pengerang,” he said.
The Rapid project is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2019.