Through its stall at Gulf Industry Fair 2009, the British Offset Office has spread the word it can facilitate the setting up of joint ventures in Saudi Arabia.
“We’re here to make people aware of our programme,” said Tony Smith, head of the organisation. “We’re trying to explain to them our role and we encourage them to look at our website.”
The Saudi-British Economic Offset Programme is open to companies from most countries around the world and British Offset helps plan joint ventures from first concepts through to formal proposals and implementation. 
British Offset has many years’ experience in setting up joint ventures in Saudi Arabia as well as links with key decision-makers in the Saudi government. In particular, it has a close working relationship with Sagia, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.
“We’re looking at JVs that are not in the defence or aerospace sectors,” said Smith. 
British Offset has over several years been looking at the petrochemical, healthcare, food and agro-technical, engineering and environmental sectors as well as sectors relating to utilities, mining and minerals, training and education and infrastructure technology, among other fields.
In recent times British Offset helped facilitate the start of joint venture companies National Petrochemical Industries Company and Saudi International Petrochemical Company, both in Jubail and with Basell as partner.
Among the latest projects that British Offset helped launch was a 100,000 sq m logistics facility in Jubail where SA Talke of Germany teamed up with Saudi partners Al Jabr and Sisco. The company provides logistics services to the petrochemical industry.
Another petrochemical project in Jubail involving Huntsman of the US and the Zamil Group is in the process of implementation.
There are others in the pipeline. “At any given time we have 20 projects in various stages of development,” said Smith.
Earlier, British Offset was instrumental in the forming of a sugar production venture involving the UK’s Tate & Lyle and Saudi food giant Savola in Jeddah. This plant has expanded from time to time and has grown to be the world’s second-largest sugar refinery.
With Smith at Gulf Industry Fair were Steve Kelly, British Offset manager based in Riyadh, and Saud Al Fozan, a British Offset official at the Riyadh office.