KAMCO launches KD 50m North African holdings company

The new company - North Africa Holdings (NAH) - was launched at a press conference today. At the meeting, NAH's Chairman and board members outlined the new company's business strategy, introduced themselves and NAH's newly-appointed Chief Executive.

NAH's Board members include the Chairman, H.E. Abdullah Yaccoub Al Bisharah - the former Kuwaiti ambassador to the United Nations - and the Vice Chairman, H.E. Abdul Karim Al Kabariti - the former Prime Minister of Jordan and current Chairman and CEO of Jordan Kuwait Bank. NAH's Chief Executive is Mr Emad Al Saleh, formerly a Deputy General Manager at Public Warehousing Company in Kuwait.

KAMCO has already placed 500 million shares of NAH with a number of local and regional strategic investors to cover the KD 50 million paid-up capital of the Company.

H.E. Abdallah Beshara, Chairman NAH, said that the formation of NAH had taken longer than expected because the founders wanted to be selective in its choice of shareholders and strategic investors:

'Putting together the right combination of shareholders, investors and management to ensure the success of a new company, can take time. However, the time spent over the last few months building this combination means that the North Africa Holding company now has a diverse shareholder base backed by some of the region's leading investors. Our Board members - each of them distinguished and experienced business people from different countries in the region - have been selected because they have first-hand experience in the type of sectors and countries the new company is likely to invest in. We've got a Chief Executive who has a strong track record in building businesses through successful strategies. With this combination in place, we fully expect NAH to become a highly profitable venture within a very short time,' he said.

Mr Beshara explained that NAH will start by targeting investment opportunities in five countries: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Libya. He said that the five countries have huge investment potential:

'With a combined population of 160 million people - that's 30% of Middle East and North Africa's entire population - and impressive GDP growth rates achieved in the last few years, these five countries represent a fantastic opportunity. For example, in 2005, Morocco's real GDP grew 3%, while Libya's GDP grew at a very impressive 8%. So, NAH will look to invest in any private equity venture, start-up company, listed securities or any other form of deal it believes will create returns for shareholders and investors,' he said.

'What makes me extremely confident this new company will be very successful is that the timing is ideal, the team we have in place has all the experience we need and the business environment in North Africa has never been better. All these signs point to the North Africa Holdings company being the right company, in the right place at the right time,' he added.

Mr Beshara revealed that the company already has a number of potential deals in the pipeline:

'NAH already has two potential investment opportunities under study: one in the in the media sector in North Africa and one in the hotel business in Libya. Hopefully, we will have more news about these deals in the next few weeks,' he said.

Mr Beshara also gave details of NAH's strategic investors who include KIPCO Group, the Public Institution for Social Security, Zummoroda Investment for Asset Management Company and the Al Nawaras Financial Investment Company based in the UAE. He said that the strategic investors will help NAH achieve its objectives:

'Our strategic investors will help NAH build relationships very quickly. For example, with holdings in companies such as Tunis International Bank, Algeria Gulf Bank, Tunisiana Telecom in Tunis and the Gulf Egypt Tourism & Hotels Company, KIPCO Group has extensive experience and a wide network of strong relations in North Africa. NAH will be able to capitalize on this extensive presence and experience to achieve its objectives,' Mr Beshara said.