SEPI Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales

NAVANTIA’s Chairman makes his first trip to Saudi Arabia

08 May 2017 | Madrid

NAVANTIA’s Chairman, Mr. Esteban García Vilasánchez, travels today and tomorrow to Saudi Arabia, in what amounts to his first trip abroad as the Company’s highest ranking officer, in order to transmit to the Saudi authorities his commitment with the winning of the contract for building and maintaining 5 corvettes.

NAVANTIA’s Chairman, together with the Company’s Commercial Director, Mr. Gonzalo Mateo-Guerrero, will hold a number of meetings during these two days with high ranking officers from the Saudi Navy and the Saudi Ministry of Defense, who have confirmed the highest interest in closing the contract for the corvettes. They will also meet with the new Spanish Ambassador in Riyadh.

For NAVANTIA, the option of winning this order has an strategic nature due to the excellent opportunities which it entails, for the good positioning in all the Middle East region with potential customers interested on NAVANTIA’s products, and above all, for the workload for NAVANTIA’s shipyards and for the ancillary industry, which would entail a major economic boost for the areas surrounding the shipyards and for the Spanish defense industry.

About NAVANTIA:

NAVANTIA constitutes a world reference in the design, construction and integration of warships with a high-technological content, as well as ship repairs and upgrades. Besides, its activity lines include the design and manufacturing of combat and command and control systems, integrated platform management systems, firing control systems, propulsion engines and the Life Cycle Support for all its products. Although its main activity is in the naval field, NAVANTIA also designs and manufactures systems for the Army and the Air Force.

NAVANTIA belongs to Grupo SEPI, a corporate holding which includes a total of 15 state-owned companies in which it has direct, majority shareholding participations, with a workforce of more than 73,000 professionals in 2015; the Spanish state-owned television and radio corporation, Corporación Radiotelevisión Española, which is attached to SEPI, and one public foundation. Equally, SEPI has direct minority shareholdings in a further 9 companies, and indirect shareholdings in more than 100 companies.