Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a Saudi-based multilateral bank owned by the Arab states, said its net profit for the first half of 2013 grew 31 per cent to $66 million from $51 million the previous year.

Apicorp, in which the UAE government has a 17 per cent stake, said its assets soared to $5.12 billion at the end of the first half.

The Multilateral Development Bank also announced that leading global ratings agency Moody’s has affirmed its issuer rating and senior unsecured rating at Aa3 with a stable outlook.

The rating affirmation reflects Apicorp’s strong capital adequacy position, high-quality asset portfolio and strong shareholder support. Moody’s also retained its Prime-1 rating for the bank’s short-term debt.

Commenting on the results, Ahmad Bin Hamad Al-Nuaimi, the chief executive and general manager, said: "Our strong profit growth reflects our ability to continuously expand our income streams while ensuring the optimal funding composition that supports sustainable growth."

"We will continue to widen our investment and financing horizons by exploring new opportunities with a key focus on growing trade finance activities in the region," stated Al Nuaimi.

"In the fourth quarter of the year, Apicorp will be conducting an extensive exercise to develop a new five-year strategic plan for 2014-2018 that will further support our mandate of raising capital access and enhancing the financial performance of the Arab energy industry," he added.

Apicorp’s investment diversification this year was spearheaded by its first Fund, the Apicorp Petroleum Shipping Fund, a landmark $150 million Fund aimed at leveraging growth opportunities in the petroleum product tanker charter market.

"The initiative, which captured significant interest from the shipping industry, was the first fund in the region aimed at a specific vessel category," stated Al-Nuaimi.

At the same time, Apicorp continued to rapidly grow its trade and structured commodity finance activities, which since 2011 have complemented its historically strong project finance franchise, he added.

Trade and structured commodity finance services and loans provided by Apicorp over first half of 2013 helped finance hydrocarbon transactions involving the world’s largest hydrocarbon commodity traders transacting with Arab-based refiners.

Since its founding in 1975, Apicorp has played a vital role in fostering the development of the Arab energy industry. Over the last 37 years, Apicorp has invested, as an equity owner, in a total of 22 oil and gas joint venture projects worth in excess of $16 billion.

At the same time, Apicorp has participated in direct and syndicated energy finance transactions worth in excess of $130 billion. Apicorp‘s aggregate commitments in these transactions, both in equity and debt, are valued in excess of $12 billion.-TradeArabia News Service