New Kuwaiti company to build petrochemical plants

Kuwait's Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co said on Tuesday it has established a company which will build two petrochemical plants at the cost of $700m. Qurain said in a statement it owned 90 per cent of the new venture called United Petrochemical Co, while United Industries Co owned the rest. It said the plants will be the country's first for producing purified terephthalic acid (PTA), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The materials will be mainly used in making plastic bottles and food packaging, the statement said. Qurain did not say when the plants were expected to built, but it said UPC "has received all required licenses." Opec member Kuwait is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter.