Receiving an overwhelming response from its shareholders, Sohar International has announced the successful closure of its rights issue, raising its Tier I capital by RO50 million.

The issuance marks one of the largest local currency capital raises by any firm in 2021 under the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and listed in Muscat Securities Exchange (MSX).

The increased paid-up capital is in line with the bank’s five-year growth strategy and its vision to become a world-leading Omani service company that helps customers, communities and people to prosper and grow.

Commenting on the successful closure of the rights issue and shedding more light on Sohar International’s growth momentum, Mr. Ahmed Al Musalmi, Chief Executive Officer of Sohar International, said: “At Sohar International, we have been agile and resilient in paving the way forward for the bank’s robust development roadmap. The move to increase our capital is part of the on-going five-year strategy, and is aimed at further strengthening our foothold in the market and our capital adequacy ratios. Sohar International will continue to pursue more growth opportunities aligning itself to positively contribute to Oman’s economy and its diversification agenda.”

Despite a challenging global, regional and international economic environment, the overwhelming response from shareholders to the issuance reaffirms the Bank’s positive market position and investor confidence. The issuance was fully subscribed and saw a varied base of investor participation, including government, quasi-government agencies, large corporates, high net worth individuals and retail investors.

Mr. Al Musalmi added: “Such overwhelming participation demonstrates the robust capabilities of Sohar International in terms of attracting capital to advance its strategic agenda and the immense trust that the market has within the organization and its future outlook. We are immensely grateful to our stakeholders and investors for having faith in the Bank’s winning promise, as we continue to deliver banking in this ever-changing world.”

Built on pillars of innovation, strong corporate governance and a customer-centric strategy, Sohar International reflected healthy growth in the six-month period ended 30 June 2021 recording a net profit of RO15.20 million compared to RO13.18 million during the same period in 2020, translating to a growth of 15.3 per cent.

Marking several milestones, the bank was recently awarded the ‘Best Employer Brand’ Award as well as the Award for ‘Managing Health at Work’ at the World HRD Congress – Oman Best Employer Brand Awards 2021 – a global body based out of India.

In addition to these accolades, the bank also received recently two coveted titles at the World Economic Magazine Awards based out of the United States of America. The bank was honored for being the “Most Innovative Bank 2021” and also won the title of the “Most Improved Bank in Profitability Management 2021”, reasserting its leadership and strategic roadmap that puts digital transformation and unmatched business acumen at the heart of all its operations.  Awards such as these confirm the bank’s unique leadership, pursuit of excellence and determination to create a winning experience.