Al Salam Bank - Bahrain Founders Committee announces the allotments of the shares

The allotment of the ordinary shares on offer has been carried out on a pro-rata basis. Therefore, a total number of sixteen (16) ordinary shares have been allotted to all investors whom have subscribed to the minimum subscription of one thousand (1,000) ordinary shares. The same allotment basis (pro-rata) shall be applied to all other investors.

All Shareholders will receive via registered mail on the address provided in the Subscription Application Form, their Allotment Notice Letter which includes the refund cheque, constitutional assembly agenda, and proxy form starting from the Distribution Date (23rd March 2006).

Mr. Hussein Mohammed Al Meeza - Vice Chairman of Founder Committee, said: "We thank God the all mighty for the huge success we witnessed in this IPO. The remarkable support we received in the Kingdom has helped us to complete the necessary steps in establishing Al Salam Bank in Bahrain. I would like to thank H.H. the King, the government and the people of Bahrain, especially Bahrain's Monitory Fund and Ministry of Finance for their great support and the facilitations they have provided us.

"Furthermore, I wish to thank SICO the Lead Manager, Leader Capital the Co-Lead Manager along with Deloitte as the Financial Advisors, Norton Rose as the Legal Advisor and KPMG as the Registrar, for their outstanding work that turned the Al Salam - Bahrain IPO into one of the most organized IPOs."

The IPO comes after the establishment of the bank with a capital of BD 120 million, equal to AED 1 billion two hundred and twenty million. The founders' shares estimated 65%, almost BD 78 million, which equals to AED 780 million. The price of each share will be a total of 1 BD and 50 fils including registrations cost. In the UAE it will be priced at 10 AED and 29 fils including the cost of registration.

Al Salam Bank's main investors in Bahrain are Emaar Properties, Amlak Finance, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Holding, Lebanese Canadian Bank, Al Salam Bank in Sudan and Aman Insurance and Re-insurance Company in addition to a large number of establishments, companies and businessmen from Bahrain, UAE and KSA.

"Al Salam Bank will work on achieving strategic partnerships with companies and businessmen and is determined on contributing to the current development process in Bahrain and the Gulf. The bank will be equipped with all the necessary sources for the inauguration which comes as a result of the great efforts in studying and preparing for presenting the best Islamic banking products, especially when expectations are indicating that the market is entering a crucial development stage."

adds Al Meeza.

The bank looks forward to playing a leading role in the Islamic banking sector in Bahrain and the ME region by offering unique Islamic banking products and solutions designed by professional specialists in the field that is gaining wide preference among other banking activities in the region.