OCI issues $1.2 billion in bonds on US market

Ahram Online, Thursday 2 May 2013

The parent company of Egypt's largest listed firm says bond proceeds will be used to finance fertiliser complex in Iowa

OCI
OCI

Iowa Fertiliser Company, a subsidiary of OCI N.V., announced Thursday it had issued approximately $1.2 billion worth of bonds in the tax-exempt US market.

The US-based subsidiary, which is wholly owned by OCI N.V., said bond proceeds will be used to finance a new greenfield nitrogen-based fertiliser complex in Wever, Iowa.

The $1.8 billion world-scale facility, the largest investment in Iowa's history, will produce 2.0 million metric tons of fertiliser once it begins production in late 2015.

Dutch-listed OCI N.V. is the parent company of OCI (Orascom Construction Industries), Egypt's largest listed firm, which on Tuesday settled a long-running tax dispute with the Egyptian government.

The company, which the Egyptian Tax Authority had accused of evading $2 billion in taxes on the 2007 sale of its subsidiary Orascom Building Materials Holding (OBMH) to cement giant Lafarge on Egypt’s stock exchange, agreed to pay LE7.1 billion over the coming four years to avoid a protracted legal battle with authorities.

OCI's consolidated net income for 2012 was $259.5 million, which represents a 62 percent drop from 2011.

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