ARAMCO BOARD: Former Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris: I want to help Saudi Arabia become a 21st century economy

[ceo_energemsier + 1,818]

Former Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris: I want to help Saudi Arabia become a 21st century economy

May. 09, 2019 - 5:53 - Former Dow Chemical Chairman & CEO Andrew Liveris on the U.S.-China trade dilemma and why he choose to sit on the board of Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil giant Aramco.

 

https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6034841309001/#sp=show-clips

[Falcon + 222]

4 hours ago, ceo_energemsier said:

Former Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris: I want to help Saudi Arabia become a 21st century economy

May. 09, 2019 - 5:53 - Former Dow Chemical Chairman & CEO Andrew Liveris on the U.S.-China trade dilemma and why he choose to sit on the board of Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil giant Aramco.

 

https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6034841309001/#sp=show-clips

His views on China trade war are  spot on. There may be some pain but the US has to stay the course.  It is vital.  

ONLY TRUMP HAS THE BALLS TO PULL THIS OFF. 

None of the 23 DEMOCRATS running for President would even attempt to challenge China. Biden would just let his son sign more Multi-Million Dollar deals with Chinese.

Clinton, Bush, Obama would have caved long time ago. 

This economic war is a 20, 30 or 40 year war.

China thinks Trump will have to cave to get elected 2020. I think Trump stays the course, turns the tables on China.

In the meantime companies are starting to make plans to diversify geographical mfg locations.  

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Falcon

[John Foote + 1,135]

SADARA, the only thing you know why Liveris.

SADARA is a serious mega project petrochemical facility. Probably a ROI no normal commercial entity could endure, but works for the Vision 2030. Dow is the expertise, the Kingdom and Aramco, the cash.

Huge understatement to credit Clinton/Bush/Obama for the China sellout. Toss your senators and representatives! Term limits on presidents, but the machine is still doing what it does.

 

[Falcon + 222]

1 hour ago, John Foote said:

SADARA, the only thing you know why Liveris.

SADARA is a serious mega project petrochemical facility. Probably a ROI no normal commercial entity could endure, but works for the Vision 2030. Dow is the expertise, the Kingdom and Aramco, the cash.

Huge understatement to credit Clinton/Bush/Obama for the China sellout. Toss your senators and representatives! Term limits on presidents, but the machine is still doing what it does.

 

John, in your opinion based on your knowledge what are the odds of Saudis accomplishing 2030 goals ?

Edited May 21, 2019 by Falcon

[John Foote + 1,135]

On 5/21/2019 at 6:03 PM, Falcon said:

John, in your opinion based on your knowledge what are the odds of Saudis accomplishing 2030 goals ?

I don't believe in absolutes, so I give it 1% chance. 

The rate of return required, from the IPO, to pull this off exceeds the two of the top sovereign funds in the world (Norway and Singapore). Can the KSA outperform every country in recent history?

Now if the targets are just a stretch goal, can they get a third of the way there? Yes.

But can they politically make the hard changes. MBS is right, the private sector needs to carry the load. But they he has to let it, let the market, make it happen, not engineer it for them by decree. What he does is by decree and mega-project.

What's needed is making it easier to do business, more transparent, normal legal protections, that will allow more normal outside investments. You can have Sharia Law, as done in Bahrain, UEA, Kuwait, etc., and still do business in a safe to outsiders way. But the version in the KSA is different. 

Overwhelming Saudi Nationals work in the public sector, but the expanding population, and oil sales, can't sustain that model. But realistically it's 90% expat in the private sector. Anyone think the businesses doing business with Aramco will be driving 70% value add IK by 2020? There are MOUs wallpapering the halls of Aramco saying it's so.

The question will be how they Kingdom handles it when it gets really tough. The uptick in pricing has bought them a few more years, but even $100 a barrel just buys them a few more years, and helps to avoid the hard changes. They have plenty of cash for now. I fear it will become a more brutal system, following the Egyptian, Iraq, Syria model as power holds on to power. I hope I am wrong. Tehran is not the threat, and neither is the price of oil. Longer term the challenges are internal.