28th General Assembly Ordinary and 1st Board of Directors Meetings for the year 2004 held in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

10/04/2004 – The General Assembly of Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) – an affiliate of the Organisation of Arab Oil Exporting Countries (OAPEC) – held its 28th Annual Ordinary Meeting on Thursday 8th April, 2004 in Al-Khobar, Eastern Saudi Arabia. The meeting was attended by representatives of the member states.

The General Assembly approved the 28th Annual Report and the audited Financial Statements for 2003. Net profit for the year was US$33.5 million, 17.5% above the 2002 level of US$ 28.5 million. Total assets rose to US$ 2,088 million, compared to US$ 1,872 million in 2002, a 12% increase, while total shareholders equity rose to US$ 707 million from US$ 680 million in 2002.

The General Assembly endorsed the Board of Directors recommendation for the distribution of US$ 20 million as cash dividends to the shareholders for the year 2004.

The General Assembly expressed its thanks and gratitude to the government of the Two Holy Mosques, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the host country, for the continued support and the special care it accords to APICORP. The General Assembly also declared its appreciation to the governments of the member states for assistance they offer to the Corporation.

APICORP continued its support of the petroleum and petrochemical industries during 2003 in the spite of the difficulties that the region experienced. The Corporation maintained its leading role in arranging a number of major financing transactions for the oil, gas and petrochemical sector in the Region, which resulted in the increase of the total loan balances from US$ 1,056 million in 2002 to US$ 1,150 million by the end of 2003. APICORP participated in the arrangement of loan financings of US$ 5.7 billion during the year, with final take of US$ 375 million, compared to US$ 6.3 billion in 2002 and a final take of US$ 555 million.

APICORP also continued to support Arab oil exports by participating, in 2003, in trade finance transactions of over US$ 614 million and with a final take of US$ 57 million.

On the equity participations’ front, it is worth noting that the increase in international oil and gas prices, together with the rise in demand for the petrochemical products was positively reflected in the annual results of most of the companies in which APICORP has an equity participation, and these profits contributed 18% to the annual income of the Corporation for 2003.

The Board of Directors held its 2nd meeting for 2004 on Thursday 8th April, it re-elected Mr. Abdullah Al-Zaid, representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as Chairman of Board of Directors, and Mr. Abo Bakr Al-Dahmani of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as Deputy Chairman.

In conclusion, the Chairman and members of the Board expressed their appreciation to the government of the Two Holy Mosques, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the cordial reception and the generous hospitality extended to members of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors during their stay in Saudi Arabia.