November 6, 2013 (Beirut): Under the patronage of H.E. Riad Salameh, Governor of the Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s Central Bank, the EuroMena Fund became the first signatory of the Investors for Governance & Integrity (IGI) declaration initiated by Capital Concept. Several development finance institutions including the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Proparco, the Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC), the German Investment and Development Corporation and the Korean Development Bank (KDB) as well as top executives of prominent Lebanese financial and commercial institutions attended the event, held at the Phoenicia Hotel.

By signing the IGI declaration, the EuroMena Fund commits to implementing solid corporate governance standards in its portfolio of regional investments to mitigate financial risks and protect its shareholders’ rights. “Transparency and accountability is at the core of our investment approach. By signing this declaration, we hope to promote a financial environment where investors’ rights are protected” says Romen Mathieu, Managing Director of the EuroMena Fund.

As part of BDL’s recognized efforts to protect Lebanon’s financial sector from political and economical shocks, its patronage of this event further enforces its continuous endeavor to encourage the country’s leading industry to adopt best in class corporate governance standards.

Capital Concept’s IGI is a platform that brings together investors and corporates that recognize the importance of best in class corporate governance standards to mitigate financial risk and defend their rights. “In an ever changing financial environment, one can no longer ignore investors’ call for more rigorous governance standards. Signatories of IGI represent this new call for a culture of transparency”, says Yasser Akkaoui, CEO of Capital Concept.

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For more information or exclusive interviews, please contact:
Myrna Abou Mrad el Khoury
General Manager Levant – Impact Porter Novelli
m.aboumrad@ipnbeirut.com.lb
+961 1 337666

About Capital Concept

Since 2004, Capital Concept has been advising companies in the Middle East and North Africa region on corporate governance. Through its alliance with leading international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), as well as through close relationships with regional central banks and capital market regulators, Capital Concept assists clients in implementing best in class corporate governance standards. In April 2013, Capital Concept became the first corporate governance advisory firm recognized by Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban (BDL), to review the banking sector in Lebanon and the MENA region.

About the EuroMena Fund

Since 2005, the EuroMena Fund, sponsored by the Capital Trust Group, has been conducting private equity transactions in the Levant and North African region. To date, EuroMena has invested over USD150 million in 15 companies covering the region and has successfully exited four of them. The EuroMena Fund has partnered with leading international organizations such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Proparco and the Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) along with high net worth private investors from the Gulf and the Levant. In June 2013, the EuroMena Fund launched the fundraising of EuroMena III, its 3rd fund which is targeted to reach USD200 million by early 2014.