Egypt's private-equity firm Citadel Capital is looking to move into East Africa after it reported a “gratifying experience” in Kenya and Uganda, news reports said. Teh $8.7 billion company in assets, said it would look to invest in commercial agriculture, energy, low-income housing and food processing, Chairman Ahmed Heikal said yesterday in an interview in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, with Bloomberg news agency. “We are interested in increasing our exposure,” Heikal said. “All of this is on the back of clear encouragement and support from both governments in RVR.” The company already owns 51 percent of the Rift Valley Railways company in Kenya. Bloomberg reported that RVR is to sign a $164 million loan as part of an expansion plan for the rail system, which already connects with the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Citadel's investments will be in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In South Sudan, the company has oil concessions and a banking license that it will “pursue,” Heikal said, without providing further details. The company has a 250,000-acre farm in southern Sudan and a similar-sized area of land in the north. BM
