Arab investment company posts gains

The Arab investment company has posted strong gains for the ongoing fiscal year 2000, according to company sources, quoted by Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

Revenues until end of last November reached $ 34 million and assets are expected to increase from $ 1.7 mln to $ 1.8 billion dollars by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, shareholders' equity is projected to increase from last year's $ 440 million dollars $ 465 million dollars this year. Company officials believe these numbers reflect the company's sound financial performance this year, in accordance with its five year plan to update its structure and fiscal standing. The five year plan concludes in 2004.

The board of trustees of the company met on Saturday in Riyadh to review the company's present activities and to lay out future strategies toward continued profitability.

The Arab investment company was founded in 1974 and is jointly owned by 17 Arab states. It is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a capital of $ 400 million. Among its holdings is a full service bank in Bahrain. It also has regional offices in Cairo, Tunis, and Amman which seek out investment opportunities for the company. The company's long-term plans aim at developing viable investment projects in the Arab world in agricultural, industrial, commercial and transportation sectors. It currently contributes to 36 projects in 15 Arab countries.