Ahmad bin Hamad Al-Nuaimi, chief executive and GM of Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), was presented the Newsmaker of the Year award by Lloyd’s List, the world’s leading daily newspaper for the maritime industry, at its Middle East and Indian Subcontinent Awards 2013 held in Dubai Thursday. Al-Nuaimi received the recognition at a ceremony attended by business leaders in the region’s shipping industry. The government of Egypt owns a 3 percent stake in APICORP.

The award recognizes the contribution made to the shipping industry by the Multilateral Development Bank’s APICORP Petroleum Shipping Fund (APSF), a landmark fund announced in February 2013. APSF is the region’s first fund aimed at a specific vessel category. Lloyd’s List said the fund makes a signal contribution to Middle Eastern shipping, and to the global advance of the industry.

Al-Nuaimi said: “I am honored to receive this recognition from Lloyd’s List. APICORP has been working closely with its partners to identify unique opportunities to support the development of MENA’s oil and gas industry. Our fund is a good example of such an opportunity in the petroleum shipping sector, a sector that is strategically important and necessary to the growth of the region’s hydrocarbon industry. APICORP worked more than two years to develop this fund, as we had to identify the appropriate time to launch the fund and acquire the vessels."

APSF is a Shariah-compliant fund that manages a total of $150 million of which 70 percent is composed of debt and 30 percent equity. The fund acquired five medium range (MR) petroleum product tankers between Q4, 2012 and Q1, 2013, which have been chartered to Hess Energy Trading Company (Hetco) in the regional and international tanker market for the life of the fund, 5 years.