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DFM is the first market in which Al Salam Bank-Bahrain has listed its shares outside Bahrain. The listing is part of its plan for future expansion and development.
Also present at the ceremony were Mohamed Hussein Al-Meeza, Board Vice Chairman, Al Salam Bank-Bahrain; Yousif Abdulla Taqi, Chief Executive Officer, Al Salam Bank-Bahrain; and members of the bank's executive management. Executives from DFM as well as representatives of the media were also present.
At 10AM, the Chairmen of both DFM and Al Salam Bank-Bahrain rang the bell declaring the start of trading of the bank's shares. The shares will be traded under the symbol "SALAM-BH." The listing follows the bank's completion of all the necessary listing requirements of the Emirates Securities and Exchange Authority (ESCA) as well as those of DFM.
On the occasion of the listing, Alabbar said:
"The listing of the bank's shares on DFM is a significant step in the bank's expansion strategy, a strategy that will diversify the bank's activities and enhance its services to its shareholders and investors. The bank's administration is working rapidly to strengthen and nurture its investments in order to achieve the best results possible and the highest returns for our shareholders and clients."
He added: "The listing of Al Salam Bank-Bahrain on DFM is a great leap forward for the bank's operations and is the result of the successful implementation of the bank's goals, and the creation of a healthy environment for shareholders to trade their shares. The increasing trust of the investors in the bank is the result of the bank's success since its inception in creating high yields for its investors. The incredible economic growth of the UAE pushed the bank's management to choose DFM as a starting point to trade Al Salam Bank-Bahrain's shares outside the Kingdom of Bahrain. This listing is also an important step towards bringing the UAE and the Kingdom of Bahrain's financial markets closer together."
Mohamed Ali Alabbar offered his thanks to the ESCA, DFM, the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Bahrain Stock Exchange for their constructive cooperation that resulted in the successful completion of the DFM listing process in a relatively short period: "The rapid completion of this new listing reflects the effective coordination between the relevant governing bodies and the high level of professionalism being demonstrated for new developments in the market between the banking industry and financial markets. It is also proof of the results when extensive experience, efficient systems and highly skilled individuals come together as one."
Essa Kazim, Chairman of DFM, said: "Salam Bank-Bahrain is the first listing on DFM in 2008. We firmly believe that with every listing, the market adds more depth and diversification while offering a balanced portfolio to investors."
He added: "The listing of Salam Bank-Bahrain reaffirms DFM's pole position and our potential to grow further. We offer truly unique investments opportunities for a vast spectrum of investor segments. DFM's strategy is based on offering diversified investment options to investors, and today's listing is in line with this strategy."
Al Salam Bank-Bahrain recently announced its financial results for the year ending December 31, 2007, which resulted in a net profit of BD23.1m ($61.6m), an increase of 41% more than the net profit of BD16.4m ($43.5m) for the period ended December 31, 2006. Earnings per share in 2007 were fils 19.3 compared to fils 15.1 in 2006. Total assets grew by 112% to BD397.8m ($1.06bn) for the year ending December 31, 2007, compared to BD188m ($501m) in 2006. The bank also announced the distribution of a 10% cash dividend of its paid-up capital.
The bank, in cooperation with DFM, recently organised an awareness campaign in Dubai to get its shareholders, many of whom reside in the UAE, acquainted with the required procedures to transfer shares from the Bahrain Stock Exchange to DFM.
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News Editor
