OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2012. Saudi Aramco announced the official opening of its newest hub in the Chinese capital.

Aramco Asia, the wholly owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco will serve as the business and cultural exchange portal between Saudi Aramco and China. The move strengthens Saudi Aramco's presence in one of the world's fastest growing markets and underscores the strategic importance of Asia to Saudi Arabia's fully integrated, global petroleum and chemicals enterprise.

According to a statement from the company, the new head office in Beijing will be supported by two branches in Shanghai and Xiamen.

"Aramco Asia brings together our business operations in this fast-growing region under one entity, unified in carrying out Saudi Aramco's vision and strategy for Asia. Aramco Asia will play an important role and partake in the building blocks that will contribute to Saudi Aramco's corporate transformation to a global leader in energy and chemicals by 2020," said Dawood M. Dawood, vice president of Marketing, Supply and Joint Venture Coordination (MSJVC) at Saudi Aramco, who led the Saudi Aramco teams in implementing the company's strategy in the establishment of Aramco Asia.

More than 300 distinguished guests, including Chinese government officials, diplomats, top executives of energy companies, veteran energy experts and researchers from Chinese academia and institutions, as well as Saudi Aramco and Aramco Asia's long-term partners, attended the inauguration ceremony in Beijing.