Al Salam Bank-Bahrain meets its shareholders prior to listing its shares on DFM

At the outset of the meeting, Mr. Hussein Mohamed Al-Meeza, the Bank's Vice Chairman, welcomed the attendees and hailed the shareholders' trust in the Bank, which formed a great impetus to the Bank's ambitious projects throughout its past two years since inception. Those ventures have achieved outstanding success that resulted in making net profit in 2007 of BD23.1 ($61.6), Al-Meeza said.

He pointed out that one of the Board of Directors' plans was to list the Bank's shares in Bahrain first and then in one of the main markets in the region. He said that the Board is very pleased to have the Bank's shares listed in the UAE and especially on DFM.

Al-Meeza also thanked Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities and Commodities Authority for their cooperation in the process leading to the listing of the Bank's shares on DFM.

He said that this step would represent a new addition to the success and support of the UAE economy and in the region in a whole.

Meanwhile, Ms. Maryam Fikri, Director of Clearing, Depository and Settlements at DFM clarified that DFM will facilitate the speed up the procedures related to transferring the shares, pointing out that when all documents are complete, the process would not exceed two days.
Ms. Fikri affirmed that DFM will be ready to receive transfer applications and assist in facilitating the transfer process for those willing to do so.

For her part, Mrs. Fahima Al-Bastaki, Director of Listing and Disclosures at DFM, thanked the brokerage firms and shareholders for attending this event, pointing our that Al Salam Bank-Bahrain is the first company to be listed on DFM since the beginning of 2008.

Then, Dr. Hasan Al-Bastaki, the Bank's Executive Vice President and Operations, IT and Support Services Group Head, gave a presentation on the Bank's identity, structure, achievements and its share activity along the past months at BSE. The presentation aimed at giving the shareholders a complete view on the Bank's position amongst other banks within which the Bank has proved its competitiveness by introducing distinct banking and financial solutions which have boosted the Bank's position locally, regionally and internationally.

Dr. Al-Bastaki clarified in detail the various procedures to be taken by the shareholders in order to transfer their shares from BSE to DFM.
Following the meeting, Dr. Al-Bastaki extended his appreciation to Dubai Financial Market, the Abu Dhabi Securities and Commodities Authority as well as Bahrain Stock Exchange and the Central Bank of Bahrain for their fruitful cooperation to facilitate the listing process.

He highlighted the great efforts exerted by DFM officials to hold this important meeting which aims at strengthening the confidence of the shareholders in the Bank's activities and various transactions, and to convey the strategies of the administration which target expanding and boosting the Bank's position within the various economically-active spots around the world.

The meeting was attended by a large number of shareholders and representatives from brokerage firms as well as local and international media, during which questions were answered in respect to the step which the transfer process should go through and the role of the pertinent parties in facilitating the various procedures.