Dow Chemical will build a new $100 million plant to produce polymers for coatings and water treatment applications in the PlasChem Park at Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The US group also has signed an agreement for a feasibility study related to a proposed investment in its performance silicones franchise in the Kingdom, CEO Andrew Liveris said during a recent visit to Riyadh.

The new polymers facility, which is expected to create around 100 jobs locally, will complement Dow's existing capabilities supplying the Middle East coatings market, including a plant at Jebel Ali, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Liveris said the silicones investment may also include building a fully-integrated, world-scale siloxanes and high-performance silicones complex with output geared toward markets and industries such as home and personal care, automotive and high-performance building and construction, as well as solar energy, medical devices, and oil and gas.

Plaschem Park is a joint project of Sadara, the US group’s joint venture with Saudi Aramco and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. Dow recently was recognized by the Saudi government as the country’s largest foreign investor.

Brazilian corn seed divestment

In separate news, Dow said it has agreed to sell a portion of its corn seed business in Brazil to an arm of China's CITIC conglomerate for $1.1 billion. The divestment is aimed at satisfying the group’s commitments to Brazilian regulators in exchange for their approval of the merger with DuPont.