27 March 2013    

ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix, two subsidiaries of ASEC Cement, a core portfolio company of leading Africa and Middle East investment company Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Exchange), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Minya University to help prepare students with the skills they need to seek meaningful employment in their fields.\n\nThe Governor of Minya, Dr. Mostafa Eissa, Minya University President, Dr. Mohammed Sherif and ASEC Cement Chairman and CEO Giorgio Bodo were in attendance at the signing ceremony.\n\nThe MOU, the first of its kind in the governorate of Minya, aims to promote the exchange of scientific and technical knowledge, in addition to improving student skills by offering training programs to students enrolled in the chemistry and geology departments at the University’s Faculty of Science.\n\nThe memorandum also stipulates that ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix will sponsor training workshops and seminars to discuss issues relevant to the construction materials sector. The agreement will allow the two companies to benefit from the vast knowledge and experience of the university’s staff.\n\nDuring the signing ceremony Eissa praised the agreement, stressing the importance of cooperation between the private sector and institutions of higher education, as a necessary means of honing and developing the technical skills of students. Furthermore, he added that “community development initiatives of this nature are a good way to capture synergies between commercial organizations and educational institutions.”\n\n“We welcome the participation of ASEC Cement and consider them a true partner in our research and development programs,” said Sherif. “We praise the company’s commitment towards the betterment of our student body,” he added.\n\n“Despite the challenges arising from these tumultuous times, the private sector remains committed to the development of Upper Egypt,” said Bodo. “We are honored and proud to say that our team is up to meeting the challenges in service of this noble goal.”\n\nThe initiative comes just one month after ASEC Cement donated EGP 2 million to support the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) to provide healthy school lunches and take-home rations to over 3,000 children attending 133 one-classroom community schools in Minya. The program includes financial aid and support for 13,000 people hailing from the most impoverished regions of the governorate.\n\nASEC Cement’s two initiatives in Minya are a part of an integrated corporate engagement strategy pursued by Citadel Capital and its Platform companies to make positive environmental and social contributions to the communities in which they do business. Since 2004 Citadel Capital has contributed a total of US$ 60 million to corporate social responsibility projects with a particular focus on education, vocational training and human resource development.\n\nCitadel Capital’s education initiatives include the full financing of graduate education scholarships through the Citadel Capital Scholarship Foundation. The Foundation is among the largest private-sector scholarship programs in Egypt and has offered full funding for the graduate education of more than 100 talented young Egyptians at leading global institutions on the sole condition that they return to Egypt to work in their chosen field following graduation.\n\nCement and Construction is one of Citadel Capital’s 5 core industries alongside Energy, Transportation & Logistics, Agriculture & Consumer Foods and Mining.\n\n—Ends— \n\nASEC Cement is a Portfolio Company of ASEC Holding, Citadel Capital’s platform investment for cement, engineering and construction in the Africa and the Middle East. Created by Citadel Capital and a group of leading co-investors, ASEC Cement is emerging as a leading regional cement producer that plans to control approximately 10 million tons of cement per annum by 2015 in attractive, key markets in the MENA region, including Egypt, Sudan and Algeria.\n\nCitadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Stock Exchange) is the leading investment company in Africa and Middle East. Citadel Capital controls investments of US$ 9.5 billion and focuses on 5 core industries: Energy, Transportation & Logistics, Agriculture & Consumer Foods, Mining, and Cement & Construction. For more information, please visit www.citadelcapital.com.\n \nFor more information, please contact:\n\nMs. Ghada Hammouda\nHead of Corporate Communications & CMO\nCitadel Capital (S.A.E.)\nghammouda@citadelcapital.com\nTel: +20 2 2791-4482 • Fax: +20 22 791-4448\nMobile: +20 16 662-0002