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| Aramco Chairman and Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan / Courtesy of Aramco |
All eyes are on whether the heads of major Korean conglomerates will be able to meet Aramco Chairman and Public Investment Fund (PIF) Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony for S-Oil's 9 trillion won ($6.7 billion) "Shaheen" project in southern Korea.
Shaheen, which means falcon in Arabic, involves the construction of Korea's largest petrochemical plant in Ulsan by 2026.
The Aramco-owned oil refiner said Tuesday that construction will start on March 9 after the project was approved by its board of directors last November, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, one of the major shareholders of Aramco, visited Korea. The plant is Aramco's largest investment in Korea.
The groundbreaking ceremony was initially planned for Monday, but was delayed for three days due to an undisclosed reason.
Although S-Oil declined to confirm the list of participants in the ceremony, Aramco's chairman and board members are expected to visit Ulsan, along with Korean politicians and government officials. Aramco will also reportedly hold its board meeting in Korea for the first time since 2015.
The Aramco chairman, who supervises Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, is known to be a close aide of the Saudi crown prince. He visited Korea last May to attend President Yoon Suk Yeol's inauguration ceremony.
In January, he also met with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, who visited Saudi Arabia to boost cooperation between the Middle Eastern country and Korean builders for Neom, a $500 billion project aimed at developing eco-friendly and smart cities covering a total of 26,500 square kilometers in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Tabuk Province near the Red Sea.
During his forthcoming visit to Korea, the Aramco chief is scheduled to meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, according to industry officials. They are expected to discuss cooperation in various infrastructure investments.
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| From left are Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Courtesy of each company |
Aramco is also said to have sent invitations to Korea's five largest business groups and several other conglomerates for the meeting, just as the Saudi crown prince did in Seoul last year.
At that time, the crown prince met in a hotel room with multiple Korean business tycoons, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan.
Industry officials expect the Aramco chairman to have talks with Korean business leaders about their cooperation in future industries, such as green energy and advanced mobility sectors.
S-Oil remained silent about the speculation, saying it cannot disclose the VIP's itinerary.
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