APICORP buys 30% stake in Bahrain’s Falcon Cement

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) has acquired a 30 percent stake in Bahrain’s Falcon Cement Company (FCC), the Gulf state’s largest cement maker, it said in a statement on Monday.

The deal was completed with Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, a regional Islamic investment bank. The value of the stake was not disclosed.

FCC, a closed joint stock company, produces cement used in largescale projects for public and private customers in Bahrain. The company has a current capacity of 1000 tons per day (tpd) and plans to double production to 2400 tpd by 2017.

Bahrain’s total project pipeline – including the $3 billion King Hamad Causeway set to be completed around 2025 – amounts to $72.7 billion, according to the latest economic quarterly update from the Bahrain Economic Development Board.

The projects include the $5 billion Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) upgrade and expansion of the Sitra refinery; the $3 billion Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) Line 6 smelting project; a $1.1 billion airport expansion project; and the $655 million offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by the National Oil and Gas Authority.

APICORP is a multilateral development bank established in 1975 by the 10 member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).