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production capacity. ACBC’s total shareholderequity reached US$ 181.5 million by the end of2009.Dr. Santrupt B Misra, CEO, Carbon BlackBusiness and Director, Group HR, Aditya BirlaGroup, said: “APICORP has played an importantrole in the growth of ACBC since investing in thecompany 17 years ago. We are sad that APICORPwill no longer be part of ACBC’s investmentfamily, but at the same time we are pleased thatwe will continue our partnership with APICORPin Alexandria Fiber Company (AFCO) in whichwe are both equity partners. We also look forwardto exploring new investment partnerships withAPICORP in the future.”APICORP seeks to actively continue exploringlong-term growth opportunities for all itsbusinesses in Egypt. Currently, APICORP holdsequity stakes in five Egypt-based companiesincluding Oriental Petrochemical Company(OPC), Alexandria Fiber Company (AFCO),Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO),Egyptian Methanol Methanex Company(EMethanex) and Egyptian Bahraini GasDerivatives (EBGDCO).Al-Nuaimi further said, “In the last few years,ably steered by its leadership, ACBC hasconsolidated its position as one of the world’smost productive carbon black manufacturersand we are confidentthat the company ispositioned to achieveeven greater successes. Our divestment in ACBCis in line with our efforts to constantly createnew spirals of investment and value in the oiland gas industry. We are also looking at exitinga few more mature investments like ACBC inorder to bring the fresh capital for a more diverseinvestment portfolio.”As part of its 2010 – 2014 five-year plan objective,APICORP is seeking to broaden its investmentsacross the MENA oil and gas industry spectrum,especially in midstream projects. According torecent APICORP research, the region’s oil and gasindustry offers an investment potential of around$615 billion and many attractive opportunitiesthat match APICORP’s strategic priorities.Since its founding, APICORP has played a vitalrole in fostering the development of the Arabenergy industry. The Bank has invested in 14joint ventures in the oil and gas industry. It hasalso participated in direct and syndicated energytransactions worth an estimated $123 billionand lent about $10 billion to member countriesand other Arab countries. APICORP expects todouble its direct investment portfolio by the endof its 2010-2014 five year plan from a value of$339 million at the end of 200923Volume 37 Issue 1