MANAMA, 29 August 2006 — Al-Baraka Banking Group (ABG) and the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) signed an agreement yesterday to list ABG shares on BSE beginning Sept. 4. The agreement was signed by Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chief Executive ABG Group on behalf of Al-Baraka Banking Group, and Fouad Abdul Rahman Rashid, director BSE, on behalf of the Bahrain Stock Exchange.
The listing of ABG shares on the BSE comes after ABG has met all the financial and regulatory requirements necessary for listing on BSE, Yousif said. “The excellent reputation of the group, being one of the first Islamic banking institutions that has a remarkable record of achievements and large network of banking units covering a number of geographical regions all over the world, enables it acquire high quality assets that represent an attractive added value to investors at the BSE,” he added.
According to him, the listing of ABG shares is considered to be the first of its kind in terms of size. The paid up capital of ABG amounts to $630 million and shareholders equity about $900 million, and as such it is one of the biggest Islamic financial institutions listed on BSE both in terms of capital and the number of subsidiary banking units, branches and geographical presence. This will no doubt add depth and stability to trading on the market, especially in view of the increasing growth performance by ABG, which is bound to achieve good returns to the investors.
ABG Chairman Saleh Abdallah Kamel said: “The listing of the group shares on the market comes in response to requests from strategic investors who participated in the private placement as well as from the general public in the Kingdom and other GCC countries and particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This move will open the door for investors in these countries to trade directly in the shares of the Group upon listing on BSE, and help broaden the investor’s base of the group. For this reason, the group is keen to maintain its presence in all markets in the region, and intends to list its shares on Dubai International Financial Exchange in concurrence with the listing on the Bahrain Stock Exchange.”
Kamel said that the listing also confirmed the soundness of the group’s financial position and the attractiveness of its shares to private and institutional investors. On the utilization of the proceeds of the initial public offering (IPO), he said that the money raised would be used to finance a number of projects related to the expansion into new markets particularly in this region such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Syria.
BSE Director Fouad Rashid referred to the success of the IPO that was recently organized by ABG to go public and said that he was pleased with the listing of Al Baraka on BSE and hoped that this step would attract more investors in a way and promote trading activity in the local market.