SWCC to become publicly traded holding company

Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is ready to become a publicly traded holding company, governor Abdulrahman Al Ibrahim said on the sidelines of an SWCC board meeting.

He said privatization of the company, which will remain state-owned, would take place in two stages: partnering with strategic investors and listing its shares on the Saudi bourse, Tadawul.

The move is seen to boost the desalination industry and enhance the sector’s competitiveness and operating efficiency, he added.

SWCC, which holds SAR 80 billion worth of assets, may need about SAR 110 billion in investments over the next 15 years, Al Ibrahim said. However, if the company manages to secure public–private partnership (PPP), these investments won’t be necessary, and it will be able to contribute around SAR 20-30 billion to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In 2011, SWCC’s former governor Fahad Al-Shareef revealed plans to turn the corporation into a joint stock company with a capital of more than SAR 60 billion. At the time, he said the company would own all desalination plants and list 30 percent of its shares in an initial public offering.

In April of last year, the Saudi shura council vetoed a proposal to turn SWCC into a holding company, Argaam reported.