Arab News 

RIYADH: The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation and its affiliates have more than 10,000 patent applications as it pushes for more innovation to compete in the global petrochemical market.

The Riyadh-based chemical giant and its linked firms also have over 200 distinct trademarks protected by over 3200 trademark filings and registrations, it said in a statement to Arab News. 

Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer of SABIC Bob Maughon told Arab News the company is keen “to highlight the importance of filing intellectual property, and trademarks of protecting innovation, of protecting and enabling growth, and also ensuring that you do it in a way that’s strategic and brings value for the long term.”

In SABIC’s 2021 annual report, it reported 10,090 patents and pending applications, as well as 20 technology and innovation centers.

The report also stated that SABIC’s sales increased by 50 percent, reaching $46.64 billion, compared to $31.19 billion in 2020. 

The rise came despite a 3 percent drop in sales volume. The increase in revenue was driven primarily by the increase in average selling prices.

SABIC Corporate Technology & Innovation expanded its global operations in 2021, employing 1,660 full-time employees in 20 centers.

The company employs more than 31,000 people in more than 50 countries.

Further, the report stated that T&I continued to improve current asset efficiencies and deploy multiple projects that led to an improvement of 2-3 percent in performance and strengthened reliability across global operations to avoid unplanned losses during the year.