Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) must pay Dow Chemical Company $2.16 billion under an arbitrator's ruling for wrongly cancelling a planned plastics joint venture in 2008, Dow said on Thursday.

The ruling against the state-run PIC by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court was final and binding, the company said.  

Kuwait pulled out of the planned $17.4 billion "K-Dow" petrochemical joint venture as the global economy sunk into the deep recession nearly four years ago, triggering charges from Dow that the move violated its agreements.

Dow and PIC mutually agreed to resolve their contractual disputes through arbitration before the ICC, which comprises pre-eminent legal experts with experience in high-value commercial litigation, the Dow statement said..

PIC is a unit of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp.

"This outcome brings resolution and closure to the issue," Andrew Liveris, Dow`s chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement. "We remain focused on continuing to move forward with our transformation and profitable business partnerships -- both in Kuwait and around the world."

"Dow has been doing business with Kuwait for nearly 40 years. The Company's partnership with Kuwait, which includes several industry-leading joint ventures, remains strong and will continue to benefit both parties," the statement added. - Reuters and TradeArabia News Service