Gulf Finance House shareholders renew trust in Board of Directors & Executive Management, approve 60 per cent dividend

The shareholders reinforced their trust in the executive management and applauded their performance.

Making an official statement after the Bank's Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings, Dr. Fuad Al-Omar, Chairman of the Bank said: "The approval for the increase in capital will pave the way for the Bank to implement its ambitious expansion plans across the region and global markets. It comes at the right time when the Bank has announced exceptional financial results and has developed plans to enter new markets."

GFH recently announced that the Bank had earned a net profit for 2005 of US$140 million, an increase of 147 per cent over US$57 million in 2004. At the close of 2005, the Bank's return on equity was 47 per cent, while return on paid-up capital was 94 per cent. The Bank's record dividend payout to shareholders is equivalent to 60 per cent of the paid-up capital. The dividend will be distributed 48 per cent in cash and 12 per cent in shares.

Addressing the shareholders, Dr. Al-Omar said that over the last six years since inception, the Bank has established a solid reputation as a leading financial institution in the Middle East. GFH is now well recognised for originating and financing infrastructure and economic development projects, which make a direct and visible contribution to the economic well-being of the countries in which the Bank's projects are located such as Jordan, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain.

"We now intend to position Gulf Finance House as a leading bank in the provision of other investment banking services. We will continue to expand our geographic reach in key regional markets, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Libya. This will enable us to diversify the Bank's income stream and asset base, and also take advantage of new opportunities in capital markets, private equity, asset management and infrastructure development," he said.

The Bank is also actively looking at listing its shares on more GCC bourses to provide investors the option of additional liquid markets to trade the Bank's shares and also to expand regional shareholder base. The Bank's shares are currently listed in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Commenting on the Bank's impressive achievements in 2005, Dr. Al-Omar said that the continued recovery of the global economy, together with robust growth in all GCC economies, fuelled by high oil prices and increased liquidity, helped GFH notch up excellent performance.

Key highlights of the agenda of the Annual General Meeting included the approval of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005 and hearing of the Board of Directors' report on the Bank's performance. The Sharia'a board and auditors reports on the Bank's businesses were also presented. Further, the recommendation for an increase in the Bank's capital was approved and the trust in the Bank's Board of Directors was renewed.

The new Board Members include Mr Abdul Waleed A. Rehman Al-Rowah who represents Gulf Investment House, Mr Abdul Latif Abdulla Al-Meer who represents Qatar Islamic Bank, Mr A. Rahman Ali Al-Saeed who represents Kuwait Finance & Investment Company, Mr Yusuf A. Latif Al-Serkal who represents Islamic Development Bank, Mr Yousif Mohammed Khayat who represents Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO), Mr Samir Yaqoob Al-Nafisi who represents Kuwait Finance House, Mr Hamad A. Aziz Al-Shaya who represents Abdul Latif Ali Al-Shaya and Abdul Aziz Al-Shaya, Mr Buti Khalifa Al-Flasi who represents Dubai Islamic Bank, Mr Khalid Mohammed Najibi who represents Bahrain Islamic Bank, Mr Adel Dawood Al-Ohali, Mr Esam Yusif Janahi and Dr Fuad Abdulla Al-Omar.

The Annual General Meeting also praised the performance of the Bank and the teamwork of its highly qualified executive management. Stating that this had immensely contributed to the achievement of impressive results adding to shareholder value, it was further recommended that the same teamwork be enhanced to attain optimal results in 2006.

After the Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings, the Board of Directors convened its first session where Dr Fuad Abdulla Al-Omar was re-elected as the Chairman and Mr Hamad A. Aziz Al-Shaya as the Vice-Chairman for the period 2006-2009. The Board also elected the members of the Board Committees (Audit Committee, Executive Investment Committee and Executive Administrative Committee).