Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic), the world's largest chemical firm by market value, will borrow up to $29 billion in the next three to five years to fund expansion, a company official was reported as saying in a newspaper on Thursday.

The figure includes borrowing by the company's affiliates through conventional and Islamic bonds and bank loans, Asharq al-Awsat quoted Mutlaq al-Morished, Sabic's chief financial officer, as saying.

Morished was speaking in London, where Sabic was making a presentation on expansion projects to banks, the newspaper said.

Sabic is investing as much as $30 billion to boost output to 80 million tonnes per year by 2012 from 50 million tonnes last year.

In January, Morished said Sabic's affiliates would borrow as much as $9 billion this year, including $6 billion for Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co in which Sabic has a stake.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund lent Kayan $1.1 billion, Morished said on Wednesday.

Sabic also said it planned to borrow around 75 percent of the $11.6 billion it agreed to pay for General Electric Co.'s plastics unit earlier this month.

Sabic affiliates borrowed $15 billion last year. - Reuters