Strategic Instead of Opportunistic

"Borealis is a European-based company but having owners both from Europe and the Arab world. We are a global player and one of the major merger companies in the polyolefin industry. We are among the top five companies around the world,” says Gunnar Thoresson, licensing manager of Borealis in introduction of his company. Excerpts of his statements:

Discussions Continue: Having invested in a big complex in the Emirates, Borealis has clearly interests in this region. It is one of the many companies that NPC talks to about various kinds of cooperation. We have already established a certain cooperation in Iran with some of the existing companies, supporting them on technology side specifically. We have ongoing discussions with NPC about future projects and how we can cooperate.

An Eye on Iran: We have attended all three forums both as a potential partner and also to follow the developments in Iran being a major player in this field. As Borealis is one of the major players globally, we would like to follow closely what is happening in the country and the impact that Iran’s expansion will have on the global markets. This is also a great opportunity to meet Iranian people which we have known since a long ago and also meet many of our colleagues. There were many qualified speakers who gave a lot of knowledge on the field.

Investing in Iranian Petrochemicals: So far there are developments going on. There has not been so many projects concluded as joint ventures yet. But this is a long-term issue for both parties. I mean parties seek partnership from a strategic point of view and not from an opportunistic point of view. You might talk 20, 30 or 40 years cooperation and then both parties have to get things right so that they are both satisfied and we create a win-win situation.
This of course means that for any company evaluating Iran, and for Iranians evaluating any company, you have to do your homework and meet regularly, and gradually find out on which areas you can cooperate. We have already started cooperation on a small scale, helping some of the Iranian companies. Recently we had a visit by Mr. Nematzadeh to our company and an industrial delegation from Iran to evaluate new opportunities. It is an ongoing process.

Teaming with NPC: NPC is a very qualified partner and has a lot of experience and lots of ideas on how they wish to develop their future. So we see them as a highly qualified and very interesting partner for the future.

IPF 2001: This forum is as interesting as I found it last year. There are many qualified speakers. Practical arrangements and the facilities are very good. I think organizers should probably give more advertisements abroad because not many people know about it. That would certainly attract more international attention.