RIYADH (Reuters) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), the world’s largest chemical firm by market value, said on Saturday it would sell bonds worth $2.2 billion to fund its purchase of General Electric’s GE.N plastics unit.

SABIC bought GE’s plastics unit for $11.6 billion last month. The company had previously said it would borrow up to 75 percent of the purchase price.

“About 25 percent of three quarters of the deal’s value will be in bonds,” SABIC Chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan told reporters. “SABIC’s strong financial position will enable it to get competitive terms.”

He did not say when SABIC would sell the bonds or give further details. SABIC Chief Financial Officer Mutlaq Al Morished said the bonds would be sold in Europe and the United States.

Prince Saud also said SABIC would raise its output by 140 percent by 2020 partly through acquisitions.

SABIC had previously said it was investing as much as $30 billion to boost output to 80 million tons per year by 2012 from 50 million tons last year.

SABIC’s total borrowing to fund acquisitions and operations through 2012 would reach $29 billion, Morished told reporters.

The figure includes borrowing by the company’s affiliates through conventional and Islamic bonds and bank loans, he said.

“This covers the loan for GE plastics, Kayan, and four other projects in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Kayan Petrochemical Co., which is part owned by SABIC, is setting up a $10 billion industrial complex in Jubail on Saudi Arabia’s Persian Gulf coast.

SABIC affiliates borrowed $15 billion last year.