Ineos billionaire Jim Ratcliffe invests $ 2 billion in Saudi investments

The British energy company Ineos will invest $ 2 billion (£ 1.6 billion) in the construction of its first manufacturing plants in Saudi Arabia.

It follows an agreement with the UK state oil company Saudi Aramco and the French energy group Total.

Ineos said the facilities would produce chemicals for sectors such as automotive, aerospace and electronics.

President Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is Britain's third richest man, called it a "major milestone for our first investment in the Middle East".

"We are bringing advanced downstream technology that will add value and create new jobs in the Kingdom."

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As part of the agreement, Ineos will develop three chemical plants at Jubail 2, a $ 5 billion petrochemical complex managed by Saudi Aramco and Total.

The plants, whose production will begin in 2025, would give it better access to the Middle East and Asian markets.

It follows the company's recent investments in Belgium, China and the United States.

Ineos also organized exploratory fracturing tests in Britain, but recently complained that strict regulations made it unsustainable for companies.

Sir Jim argued that the ministers had yielded to a "vocal" minority of environmental activists, even though the fracking was "extremely safe and tested".

In May, the pro-Brexit businessman also dismissed information that he would have left the UK to settle in Monaco for tax purposes.

The billionaire said that Ineos had invested 2.5 billion pounds sterling in the UK over the last 20 years and that it "has never made a penny of profit in the UK".

"I've made a lot of money in the United States, Germany and Belgium, but am I supposed to go live there? It's my private affair," he said. declared to the BBC.