AFC invests US$25 million in Egypt's Carbon Holdings

African Media Agency (AMA)/- Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading pan-African multilateral development finance institution and project developer, has announced it is to invest US$25 million in Egyptian petrochemicals company Carbon Holdings Ltd.

Andrew Alli, CEO of AFC

Carbon Holdings primarily operates in the Suez Special Economic Zone. As well as exporting raw materials and end products, the company aims to develop an integrated large scale petrochemicals platform in Egypt to take advantage of the country's strategic geographic location along the Suez Canal. Subsidiary companies of Carbon Holdings include Oriental Petrochemicals Company, Egypt Hydrocarbon Corporation and Tahrir Petrochemicals Corporation.

In addition to AFC, the International Finance Corporation and Gulf Capital are providing capital to support the expansion of Carbon Holdings' operations. The Company's investment strategy will support the establishment of a robust raw materials base and ultimately the development of Egypt's manufacturing sector, delivering long term jobs to Egypt and helping to boost Africa's overall economic growth.

Commenting on the investment, Andrew Alli, CEO of AFC, said: "AFC prioritises investing in projects and businesses that can make a tangible impact on the people, their communities and the economy, and we believe that key to the next chapter in Africa's growth story is investing in companies such as Carbon Holdings which deliver industrial products across a broad reaching value chain. 

"The government of Egypt is pursuing policies to diversify the economy and is supporting the private sector to develop new industries, including manufacturing, to create high value-add jobs for Egyptians. AFC is proud to be able to support Carbon Holdings to expand its operations and drive local employment."

Basil El-Baz, Chairman and CEO, Carbon Holdings said: "Carbon Holdings is at a very exciting stage in the development of its Egyptian petrochemicals business and relationships with our investors have been integral to our growth. I am delighted that through this investment we can now welcome AFC into this prestigious investor group. The addition of such a pre-eminent African institution is extremely important to Carbon Holdings and will further emphasise our strategic commitment to the industrial development of not only Egypt, but to our future industrial plans in Africa."

AFC was formed to provide specific project structuring expertise and risk capital for large-scale infrastructure projects that are needed across Africa to develop economies. In November 2016, AFC launched AfIDA, a think tank and network to promote and advance the development of more bankable infrastructure projects across Africa. AfIDA will work to develop market norms, conduct independent research and act as a policy advocacy forum for the industry.

The deal was arranged by Investbridge Capital, a Dubai-based privately-owned DFSA regulated independent provider of alternative asset management and corporate advisory services.