Company Launches Charitable Diagnosis Program for Sustainable Wellbeing

Cairo, Egypt, December 20, 2010: Al Borg Laboratories, the Middle East's largest medical testing group, has announced that it will start offering subsidized medical laboratory testing as part of its new Charitable Diagnosis (CD) program.  In its pilot phase, Al Borg will offer up to 10,000 tests, with a view to establish a continuous program of sustainable wellbeing to the needy patient communities in Egypt. In order for this effort to reach the right target patients, Al Borg has partnered with a number of reputable non-governmental charitable organizations that will identify and refer, through their field work, beneficiaries most in need of this service as part of their wider charitable healthcare programs.  Al Borg will seek to complement the effort of such organizations through its CD self-funded initiative in an effort to extend their scope of services to encompass medical care. Tests will be offered to patients for a nominal administrative fee of two Egyptian Pounds per test.

"Al Borg Laboratories believes that it is its responsibility to contribute to the wellbeing of the Egyptian community.  Hence, CD aims at bringing top class diagnostic services by an internationally accredited Egyptian lab to thousands of patients across Egypt who cannot otherwise access and afford paying for these tests" said Dr. Ahmed El Saifi, Chairman of Al Borg Laboratories. He added "The tests will cover a spectrum of the most widespread diseases in Egypt including diabetes and various liver diseases".

Ahmed Badreldin, Executive Director at Abraaj Capital, the majority shareholder of Al Borg Laboratories through its Infrastructure and Capital Growth Fund (IGCF), said "this comes as part of our wider Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program whereby we encourage our partner companies to actively participate and contribute to the societies they operate in".

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About Al Borg Laboratories:
Al Borg was established in 1991 and is currently one of the largest private medical laboratory chains in the Middle East with over 1,100 employees in 90 branches spread across Egypt and c.25% share of the Egyptian private laboratory testing market. The Company is involved in a wide range of conventional and specialized tests and is the market leader in hepatitis, molecular & genetic diagnosis. Al Borg was the first Egyptian laboratory to receive international accreditation from the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC). Abraaj Capital, through its Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund, currently owns c.90% of the shares of Al Borg through its $150m acquisition in May 2008. For additional information, please visit www.alborglab.com

About Abraaj Capital:
Abraaj Capital is the biggest private equity group in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA). Since inception in 2002, it has raised close to US$ 7 billion and distributed almost US$ 3 billion to its investors. Headquartered in Dubai, the Abraaj Group operates eight offices in the region including in Istanbul, Cairo and Riyadh. Funds managed by the Abraaj Group or its predecessor entities have made 36 investments in 11 countries and achieved more than 20 exits. More than 75 world-class investment professionals work for Abraaj Capital, which manages seven Funds; four buyout Funds; Riyada Enterprise Development Fund, a Fund dedicated to small and medium enterprises; ASAS, an income-generating, sale-and-leaseback Fund; and a real estate Fund. Funds under management at the end of 2009 were US$ 6.6 billion. Funds managed by the Abraaj Group have holdings in about two dozen companies in the region including Air Arabia, the region's biggest low-cost carrier; Acibadem Healthcare Group, Turkey's largest privately owned hospital operator; and Al Borg Laboratories, the Middle East's biggest privately owned medical-testing laboratory company. Abraaj Capital has won many regional and international awards, including five consecutive years as 'Middle Eastern Private Equity Firm of the Year' from London-based Private Equity International. Abraaj Capital Ltd., a member of the Abraaj Group, is licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The group is also an associate member of the European Venture Capital Association. 

For further information, please contact:
Nicholas Nesson
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-3355969
Fax: 971-4-3356080
E-mail: n.nesson@asdaa.com  

© Press Release 2010