Abu Dhabi-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) has announced that its profits for the first half of 2009 rose to $2.1bn from $136m for the corresponding period in 2008, WAM has reported. The company attributed the growth in profits to the sale of bonds and convertible shares to Barclays Bank at a total value of about $2bn. The company also announced that the value of its portfolio of assets rose in the first half of 2009 to $31.5bn, up more than $8bn on the same period the previous year.