ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU, together with SUEZ, a French based leading environmental company, and Five Capital Fund, a Saudi investment fund have jointly acquired a 65% stake in Environment Development Company (“EDCO”), a Saudi hazardous waste management company based in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. ITOCHU acquired a 20% stake in EDCO through this transaction.

Jubail Industrial City is a special administrative district designated by the Saudi government in 1975 for the purpose to expand petrochemical industry, the core industry as an oil producing country. It is one of the world’s leading manufacturing/export hubs, with more than 160 enterprises including leading petrochemical players providing petrochemical products to Europe and Asia. EDCO was established in 2005 as a company to provide integrated hazardous waste management services including transportation, treatment and final disposal, boasts the region’s top market share in the hazardous waste management business with the processing capacity of 150,000 tons per year.

ITOCHU launched its initiatives in the waste management business in the 2000s and aims to expand and enhance its involvement in this field with a proven track record,four projects in the United Kingdom and one project in Serbia.
Since the 1960s, ITOCHU has been extensively involved in business initiatives including water treatment in Saudi Arabia, taking steps to conduct feasibility studies with waste management services for the petrochemical industry, which is the country’s core industry. ITOCHU analyzed that there is a strong demand for sophisticated waste management services in light of intensifying environmental regulations and growing awareness of ESG and SDGs by the petrochemical players. Together with new shareholders, ITOCHU is pleased to participate in EDCO, aiming for further expansion and enhancement in its business to position EDCO as a leader in its field.

ITOCHU will collaborate with the new shareholders to introduce European waste management practices to EDCO, and aims to further contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic growth and environmental conservation.
Going forward, ITOCHU will pursue development in the hazardous waste management business, based on its experience in Saudi Arabia and other industrial cities across the world.

EDCO will contribute to achieving the five sustainable development goals (SDGs) indicated below, realizing sustainable communities and reducing burdens on the global environment.

Since the end of the 19th century, SUEZ has built expertise aimed at helping people to constantly improve their quality of life by protecting their health and supporting economic growth. With an active presence on five continents, SUEZ and its 90,000 employees strive to preserve our environment’s natural capital: water, soil, and air. SUEZ provides innovative and resilient solutions in water management, waste recovery, site remediation and air treatment, optimizing municipalities’ and industries’ resource management through “smart” cities and improving their environmental and economic performance. The Group delivers sanitation services to 64 million people and produces 7.1 billion m3 of drinking water. SUEZ is also a contributor to economic growth, with more than 200,000 jobs created directly and indirectly on an annual basis, and a provider of new resources, with 4.2 million tons of secondary raw materials produced. By 2030, the Group is targeting 100% sustainable solutions, with a positive impact on our environment, health and climate. SUEZ generated total revenue of €18.0 billion in 2019.

Five Capital is an investment fund sponsored by (i) Bpifrance, the French Sovereign Wealth Fund and (ii) Kingdom Holding Company, one of the largest Saudi-based institutional investors. Five Capital invests along leading French corporates in Saudi Arabia, the GCC and other geographies with a focus on private equity and real assets opportunities.