Venture Capital Banks' General Assembly approves increase in capital to $250m

The Board of Directors also endorsed the recommendation to distribute 10% cash dividends and 5% bonus shares to shareholders.

Furthermore, VC Bank announced expansion plans in its operations after the Extraordinary Assembly approval of an increase in VC Bank's Authorised and Paid up capital from $165m to $250m with an increase of $85m to go in line with its Board of Directors approved strategic plans.

Chairman of VC Bank, Dr. Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman, commented in a press conference which was held after the Banks' AGM/EGM:

"the Board of Directors has approved the capital increase from $165m to $250m, an increase of $85m which will enable us to create a variety of investment projects. VC Bank launched several successful new investment projects to achieves desire growth under the approved strategic plan by the banks' Board of Directors in light of the high success of competitive advantage achieved since the banks' inception. VC Bank launched several successful new investment projects and expanded its shareholders base, which contributes to the strengths of VC Bank's presence in the region. We endeavor to sustain the high levels of performance in the next period to achieve shareholder objectives, ensuring the success of the business modules VC Bank adopted; investing in small and medium companies and projects. We look forward to achieve similar success this year, through the fulfillment of our growth objectives and the expansion of the various investment projects. The capital increase and the tremendous success achieved in 2008, we are ready to increase our shareholders base."

Dr. AL Sulaiman added, "I extend my sincere appreciation to His Majesty King of Bahrain, His Highness the Prime Minister, and His Highness the Crown Prince, for their wise leadership and reform programme, and their endorsement to the Islamic banking industry. My thanks are also due to the Central Bank of Bahrain and other Government institutions for their sound, professional advice and assistance during the year."

"I would also like to express my gratitude to our shareholders, clients and business partners for their loyalty and encouragement; to our Shari'ah Supervisory Board for their guidance and supervision; and to the Bank's management and staff for their highly valued dedication and professionalism. Together, our stakeholders have contributed to the third and most successful year of operations for Venture Capital Bank," he stated.

In turn, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, Abdullatif Mohammed Janahi, said, "I am delighted to report that Venture Capital Bank enjoyed an excellent third year of operations in 2008, with a strong performance across all areas of our activities that exceeded expectations. As a result, we have successfully demonstrated the viability of our investment strategy and business model. This performance will, by God's will, form a solid base for the ongoing success of VC Bank during the challenging market conditions that face us."

The Bank posted record-breaking financial results during 2008. Net profit grew by 47% to $47m compared to $32.3m in 2007, resulting in a return on equity 27%. Total income for the year was $82m (2007: $54.4m. Total assets at the end of 2008 stood at $243m (2007: $222m) while total shareholders' equity before allocation was $224m (2007: $202m).

The Banks' capital adequacy rate of 43% remains significantly higher than the minimum requirements of the Central Bank of Bahrain. I would also like to stress that the Bank has a very strong balance sheet, is not leveraged, and enjoys healthy levels of liquidity. superior deal flow and strong placement capability

A smart and flexible organisational structure is one of the most critical success factors for a financial institution. Accordingly, in 2008, we enforced our internal structure with the aim of increasing impact, promoting innovation, and facilitating growth. Building on our business achievements to date, VC Bank successfully executed no less than six new innovative projects in the MENA region during 2008. These comprise Venture Capital Fund - Bahrain, German Orthopaedic Hospital and number of development projects in the service and real estate sectors.

During 2008, we continued to enhance the institutional capability of the Bank in order to support the growth and development of our business activities. The success of our ongoing recruitment of high calibre professionals resulted in the strengthening of key critical areas such as Treasury, Compliance, Risk Management, Internal Audit and Operations, while the Banks' overall team now is 79 strong. We remain committed to providing our staff with the relevant training and development to advance their careers and to help them realise their full potential.

During the AGM, VC Bank conducted elections for new members to its Board of Directors for the coming three years consisting of 12 members. In these elections, from among highly qualified and dedicated candidates, the following members were elected:

1. Dr. Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman Chairman.
2. Abdulfatah Mohammed Rafei Marafie Deputy Chairman.
3. Abdullatif Mohammed Janahi.
4. Ali Mousa Al Mousa.
5. Ajlan Abdulaziz Al Ajlan.
6. Ibrahim Bin Hamad Al Babtain.
7. Marwan Ahmad Al Ghurair.
8. Mohammed Bin Sulaiman Abanumay.
9. Saleh Mohammed Al Shanfari.
10. Abdul Hadi Treheeb N Al-Shahwani.
11. Nedhal Saleh Al Aujan.
12. Sulaiman Ibrahim A AlHudaithi.