Arab Energy Fund reveals second year of record income

Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

• Net income rises to $225m
• Up by more than half on 2022
• Total assets grow by 12%

The Arab Energy Fund, previously known as Apicorp, has announced a second consecutive year of record net income.

The fund, which is based in Riyadh and focused on the Mena energy sector, announced net income of $225 million in 2023, up by more than half on 2022’s figure.

The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF) said the results were driven mainly by asset growth, the institution’s funding and liquidity profile optimisation, lending portfolio diversification, and a favourable interest environment.

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Total assets grew by 12 percent in 2023, reaching nearly $10 billion, while capital gains amounted to almost $21 million.

Apicorp, the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, was founded in 1975 by ten Arab oil-exporting states. 

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Khalid Ali Al Ruwaigh, the chief executive, said that the fund aligns its debt and equity portfolios with the vision of “becoming a pre-eminent impact investor in the Mena region and supporting a more sustainable energy ecosystem and circular carbon economy.”

TAEF announced last December that it would invest up to $1 billion over the next five years in energy transition, including decarbonisation technologies, as part of its new strategy for 2023-2028.

The fund says it is focused on helping oil-producing countries in the Mena region achieve their goal of transitioning towards a net zero future.

Almost 20 percent of TAEF’s loan portfolio of around $4.5 billion was allocated to environmental and socially responsible projects last year. 

The fund carries an investment-grade credit rating from all major rating agencies.

The projects backed by TAEF include Neom Green Hydrogen, Dubai Waste Management Centre, an Aqua Power solar plant in Egypt, and a wind farm in Jordan.

However, unlike some financial entities, which have pledged not to support companies in oil and gas, the fund continues to finance fossil fuel projects.