OCI shareholders approve new board of directors

The shareholders of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) have approved, through an Ordinary General Meeting held on August 30, the addition of new independent board directors and the reinstatement of a biannual dividend distribution policy.

The new board members include Sami Haddad, Former Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade, Arif Naqvi, Chief Executive Officer of Abraaj Capital, Hassan Abdalla, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Arab African International Bank, Jérôme Guiraud, Chief Executive Officer of NNS Capital and Salman Butt, Chief Financial Officer of OCI Group.

With the reinstatement of the new dividend policy in place, OCI has been authorised to pay up to the total value of available retained earnings as at December 31, 2007. OCI intends to pay a $1 cash dividend per ordinary share to its shareholders as soon as possible.

During the first half of 2008, OCI's construction segment won new awards worth $3.87 billion, representing a 107 per cent increase over the same period last year. It also secured several new projects across the region, which shall be included in the official September backlog. In the UAE, Besix, in joint venture with Alstom, secured a $400 million for the Dubai-Al Safooh (Metro) Transit System. Besides, the Besix/ Veiolia joint venture secured a 525 million euros Boot contract for a wastewater plant in Abu Dhabi.

Also during the quarter, OCI established a new construction joint venture in Abu Dhabi in partnership with Hydra Commercial Investments, Sorouh Real Estate and Capital Investment, an Abu Dhabi-based firm. The company will specialise in geotechnical engineering and foundation works with an aim to cater to the noticeable shortage in piling and foundation works in the Middle East construction market. The new subsidiary enhances the Construction Group's vertical integration.

"OCI continues to selectively pursue new investment growth and integration-driven opportunities across its core activities. Management is actively engaged in the review of several potential projects and partnerships. With our businesses continuing to benefit from strong demand for their services and products, we believe we are poised for a solid year. We expect the construction/fertiliser combination in 2008 to outperform the construction/cement combination in 2007," said the company in a statement last week.