Change font size:   

 
Sovereign wealth funds

Sovereign wealth funds

An in-depth look at the state-owned sovereign wealth funds that dominate the attention of the world's financial markets

Securitisation is not dead

Securitisation is not dead

By Michael Heise, chief economist Allianz Group/Dresdner Bank

June 2008

Saudi Arabia: Ma’aden builds aluminium industry from scratch

Mining company’s CEO hopes credit crunch won’t dent IPO and funding for expansion projects.




"Our project is not dependent on imported alumina and market fluctuation. Our inputs for the site – bauxite, caustic soda, energy – are local"
Abdallah Dabbagh, Ma’aden

The build bigger approach is characteristic of the Gulf. Are too many aluminium smelters being built in the region? Abdallah Dabbagh, president and chief executive of Ma’aden, Saudi Arabia’s national mining company, thinks the proximity of huge hydrocarbon resources means they will all remain competitive on the global market. In any case, he tells Euromoney: "Ma’aden is not building an aluminium smelter. We are building the largest aluminium industry ever built at one time: we are building a mine, a refinery, a smelter, and a power plant."

The Saudi capital market regulator announced in May that Ma’aden could launch an IPO in July. It will be one of the largest ever listings on the local exchange, raising almost $2.5 billion for a 50% sale of the firm. But the Saudi government will probably retain a majority holding, as two state pension funds have each been reserved 5% of the IPO.


You do not currently have access to this content. To gain access visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.


Subscribe

Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
    
Level 1:

  • Online access to the past 12 months content
  • Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
  • News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
  • Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'

    Level 2:

  • Exclusive access to euromoney.com - Read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 2000
  • 12 monthly issues of Euromoney magazine
  • More than 30 specialist research guides free
  • The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
  • Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
  • News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
  • Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'

Click here to subscribe




You need the best analysis possible to understand what you’re buying. That or a large pair of balls

One US fund manager ponders whether or not to buy real estate assets.

Ruromoney Jobs Post a job