PIC posts kuwaiti dinar 80m in Q1 2013

The Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) had posted KD 80 million in profit for the first quarter of 2013, said CEO and member of the board of directors Asaad Al-Saad here Thursday. In an interview with PIC\'s Kemiya Magazine, Al-Saad said that operating profits for PIC in the previous two fiscal years (2011-12 and 2012-13) were at KD 261 and 229 million respectively. He indicated that the company\'s shares from Equate Petrochemical Company also help in providing liquidity that helped PIC in paying the penalty related to the DOW Chemical issue. He affirmed that PIC was in a good financial situation that would enable the company to support its activity in terms of operations at plants as well as establishing and developing its investments. In regards to the Olefins III project, the official affirmed that the company had finished its economic assessment of the project and hoped that cooperation with governmental institutions and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) would help to launch the project soon. On the company\'s petrochemical project to be established in China, Al-Saad that the company is expected to begin production by 2017; however, such projects go through several stages before an actual date is set.