Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, the Middle East's biggest petrochemicals company, has confirmed Abdulrahman Al Fageeh as its chief executive.
Mr Al Fageeh was appointed to the role in an interim capacity in September last year after his predecessor Yousef Al Benyan was named as Saudi Arabia's Education Minister.
Mr Al Fageeh, who will also be joining Sabic’s board, previously held several senior roles in the company and is currently the chairman of fertiliser producer Sabic Agri-Nutrients Company and Nusaned Investment, the company said in a filing on Wednesday to the Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares are traded.
Sabic is set to play a key role in the kingdom’s plan to reduce its reliance on oil exports.
The petrochemicals industry is expected to be a major driver of crude demand in the next few decades as consumers increasingly switch to electric vehicles.
Globally, the sector is projected to be worth about $800 billion by 2030, up from about $475 billion in 2020, according to Precedence Research.
Last year, Sabic announced plans to set up a plant to convert crude oil into petrochemicals in Ras Al Khair, with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day of oil.
Top crude exporter Saudi Aramco, which owns a 70 per cent stake in Sabic, has been investing billions of dollars in downstream projects to extract more value from its crude output.
In November, Aramco said it would build a $7 billion refinery and integrated petrochemical steam cracker in South Korea through its S-Oil unit.
The steam cracker, which will convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock, is expected to produce up to 3.2 million tonnes annually and have the capacity to produce high-value polymers.
Petrochemicals are set to account for more than a third of the growth in oil demand in the period up to 2030, and about half in the run-up to 2050, overtaking the lorry, aviation and shipping sectors, according to the International Energy Agency.
Their production is also poised to consume an additional 56 billion cubic metres of natural gas by 2030, equal to about half of Canada’s total gas consumption today, the energy agency said.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Japan
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Canada
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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