BQAD.L Regulatory News (BQAD)

17 May 2006 11:58

Bank Audi SAL- Audi Saradar Group17 May 2006 Press Release Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group obtains a license to launch Investment Banking activities in Saudi Arabia Beirut, May 17, 2006 The Capital Market Authority (CMA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has approvedthe license application of Bank Audi sal to launch Audi Saudi Arabia to providea complete range of investment banking services. Audi Saradar Group contributesto 70% of Audi Saudi Arabia's capital, with the remaining 30% owned by prominentSaudi individuals and business groups. Mr. Raymond Audi, Chairman General Manager of Bank Audi sal - Audi SaradarGroup, stated on this occasion: "In tandem with its vision for regionalexpansion, Bank Audi aims at positioning itself as a regional financial groupthat serves its clients across increasingly integrated markets, providing themwith a full range of financial services and products to answer their every need.I am confident that Audi Saudi Arabia will be a living example of thedevelopment witnessed by the Kingdom's capital markets and a platform for thedevelopment of the Group's investment activities in the region. Bank Audi sal isvery proud to be the first Lebanese financial institution to enter recently theSaudi market." Bassam Yammine, CEO of Audi Saudi Arabia, declared on this occasion: "We wouldlike first to thank the CMA for their hard work and commitment to develop theSaudi capital markets and wish them continued success. We shall strive to be aleading financial services provider in the Kingdom and we are confident that ourexperience and know-how will help us achieve this goal. We aim to introduceinnovative classes of assets and investment opportunities that would increasethe financial markets' depth and contribute to the expansion of products andservices offered in the Saudi market." Audi Saudi Arabia will be headquartered in Riyadh and will offer dealing,under-writing, management, arranging, advisory, and custody services. Audi Saudi Arabia will officially launch its activities in Fall 2006 and willabide by the Group's core corporate values that have long made its reputation inthe region, namely quality, heritage, human capital, civic role, innovation andtransparency. Bank Audi sal is a leading Lebanese Bank with, at end-March 2006, US$ 12.2billion of consolidated assets and US$ 16.5 billion of total footings, includingall assets under management. Customers' deposits totaled US$ 10.1 billion andshareholders' equity reached US$ 1.6 billion, the equivalent of 30% of theconsolidated equity of the Lebanese banking sector. Bank Audi ranks among thefirst 25 Arab banking groups according to the most important criteria such asassets, deposits, shareholders' equity and net profits. Bank Audi offers a full range of commercial, investment, private and retailbanking services, and has operations in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, France,and Switzerland. In addition to the expected launching of its activities inSaudi Arabia, the Bank is planning to launch activities in North Iraq beforeyear-end. The prospection for new high-potential regional markets is alsounderway, with plausible perspectives in Algeria, Sudan and Yemen. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange