Manama: Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. has reappointed Securities and Investment Company BSC (SICO) as its designated market maker with respect to the Bank’s ordinary shares listed in Bahrain Bourse as per the CBB’s approval.
The market making mechanism allows SICO to buy and sell Al Baraka shares in the market. This enables to repurchase an amount up to 3% of its shares and to offer them again in the market.
“This dynamic and liquid trading environment will establish a mechanism to improve liquidity of trading in our shares, which will enhance the Share price and the investors’ demand,” Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the President and Chief Executive, said.
ABG is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion.
The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 17 countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700 branches. Al Baraka Banking Group has operations in Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Bahrain, Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and Germany, in addition to two branches in Iraq and representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.
ABG and its Units offer retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari’a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$ 2.5 billion.
S&P Global Ratings has updated the long-term rating on Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. to ‘BB-‘ with a ‘Stable’ Outlook, while affirming the ‘B’ short-term rating of the bank.
ABG has also been rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) by Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA). IIRA has also rated ABG on the national scale at A+ (bh) / A2 (bh) with a fiduciary score of 81-85, the highest level amongst Islamic Financial Institutions in the region.
