Apicorp to exit two equity investments

Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP) on Sunday said it was in "mature discussions" to divest two of its key equity stakes and reinvest the proceeds in new oil and gas companies as it seeks to diversify its portfolio.
The development bank - owned by the ten member states of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each holding 17 percent stakes - did not say what it would sell.
The bank plans to reinvest the proceeds in upstream and midstream projects in the oil and gas sectors in the Middle East and North Africa region. The bank, which had total assets of $4.1 billion at the end of 2009, did not say what amount it was expecting to raise from the divestment. Apicorp, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, said about 65 percent of its equity investments and 37 percent of its loan book are allocated to the kingdom.