20 July 2006

A memorable day in my career

Till 4.30 pm on Tuesday 18 July 2006, it was just another day in my life and then, in our office there was a short meeting called by our top management who broke the news that our Board had accepted a proposal to admit Bank Muscat International as a shareholder of our Company with 40% stake.

So the day which started normal grew into a great and memorable one by evening.

The news means we are on way to take a leadership position in the market place with much more ammunition to compete for increased success.

Pleased post the news as it appeared in Oman Observer (http://omanobserver.com) below.



Business news
BankMuscat Intl plans to take 40pc stake in National Finance
By A E James
MUSCAT — The board of National Finance Company has accepted a proposal from BankMuscat International (BMI) to acquire a strategic 40 per cent stake in the company. As per the understanding, National Finance will issue 4.83 million additional shares at a price of RO 1.850 per share to the Bahrain-based BMI through a private placement route. “The board has approved the proposal in view of BankMuscat International's standing in the region. It will help the company to generate additional business,” said Robert Pancras, General Manager of National Finance.

“The proceeds of the issue will be used for expanding our business,” he added. Pancras said with the issue of additional shares, the paid up capital of the company would go up to RO 12 million from RO 7.2 million now. The additional capital will also help the company to comply with the stipulation of the central bank to raise paid up capital to RO 10 million within three years. “This will help us to raise the paid up capital much before the three year period,” he added.

But Pancras said that the proposal is subject to the approval from regulating authorities and shareholders of his company. If everything goes well, BMI's representation in NFC's board will be proportional to its shareholding in NFC. On the financial performance, he said the company has a strong relation with local customers, especially in automobile and small and medium enterprise (SME) segments. BMI, whose 49 per cent stake is held by Muscat-based BankMuscat, will invest RO 8.94 million to become a strategic stakeholder of National Finance. Shares allotted to BMI will be locked in for a period of three years.


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