al khaliji

• al khaliji tops H&H Webranking survey of listed companies in Qatar and across GCC

Doha, 17 October, 2009: al khaliji topped Halvarsson & Halvarsson's (H&H) inaugural "GCC Webranking" survey of listed companies in Qatar and banks across the GCC as the Bank's website registered an average score of 28.75 points, on a scale ranging from 0 to 34.25 points. Sites are assessed according to 140 criteria which are derived from H&H's survey of business journalists, analysts and investors to identify what information and functionality they value most highly from a corporate website.

In a statement distributed to the media, al khaliji emphasized the importance of a corporate governance structure striving to be aligned with good international standards founded on OECD principles and Basel Committee guidelines. The Bank's statement reflects the positive feedback received by H&H Webranking survey on al khaliji's governance and transparency that it adopts in dealing with the community of investors and analysts.

al khaliji's website (www.alkhaliji.com) is available in both Arabic and English languages and provides a great deal of information and details on the biographies and backgrounds of the Board and Senior Management members. It also includes a message from the CEO and a sufficient brief of the Bank's strategy, vision and values along with an overview of the milestones achieved since the Bank's inception in 2007, as well as the annual reports for both 2007 and 2008.

Under Investor Relation's section, al khaliji posts annual and periodic financial statements, announces the dates of financial disclosures in advance, and provides a brief on investor meetings. Visitors of this section may go through the Bank's Memorandum and Articles of Association and examine Corporate Governance / Company's Secretariat policies and procedures. Share Details and General Assemblies sub-section provides detailed information on general assemblies and general assemblies minutes, along with share details, trading information, foreign ownership limit, and trading value. The major Shareholders sub-section furnishes information on the major shareholders and the distribution of shares among companies, government and individuals. All the press releases issued by the Bank are available online as well.

His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Faisal Bin Thani Al-Thani, al khaliji's Chairman and Managing Director commented: "We strive to adopt transparency in our financial statements, processes, plans and programs and make every effort to provide our investors with sufficient information on the Bank's plans and achievements through regular postings on our website and reporting in local and GCC dailies. We are glad to realize that our efforts to implement a higher degree of transparency via our website have been recognized by H & H Webranking, who attributed khaliji's website the highest score in the banking sector in the GCC, as well as the highest score among the 12 largest listed companies in Qatar".

Robin McCall, al khaliji Acting Chief Executive Officer commented: "al khaliji has adopted an effective communication policy with its investors. We have created an Investor Relations Unit and website, set a clear policy with respect to good corporate governance and disclosures, and strive to align al khaliji's activities and management with international best practices".