MUSCAT : Bank Muscat held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and an Annual Ordinary General Meeting (AGM) of its shareholders on Tuesday, 23 March 2021. The meetings were held through the electronic platform developed by Muscat Clearing and Depository Company (MCDC) and were presided over by Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani, Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Directors. 

At the meetings, shareholders agreed to increase the authorised capital of the Bank to OMR 450 million from OMR 350 million previously. The shareholders approved the amendment of the Bank’s Articles of Association accordingly. The appointments of the statutory auditors for Bank Muscat and the external independent Shari’a auditors for Meethaq Islamic banking services for the year 2021 were also approved. At the AGM, shareholders of the Bank granted their approval to distribute 25% cash dividend (at the rate of 25 baisas per share) and also bonus shares at the rate of 10% of the issued capital (10 bonus shares for every 100 shares owned) of the Bank for FY 2020. Shareholders will thus receive a combined dividend of 35%. 

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani expressed his thanks and gratitude to the shareholders for their strong support and confidence in the Board of Directors of the Bank and the Bank’s performance and progress. He stressed that Bank Muscat would continue to further consolidate its leadership and maintain its position in the banking sector, driven by its customer-centric strategy and continuing to achieve greater success and offering products and services that meet the needs of different customer segments while also achieving added value for its shareholders.

Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani said that the Board of Directors of the Bank welcomed and supported the measures taken by the Central Bank of Oman and the Capital Market Authority to strengthen the financial sector in the Sultanate. He added that the achievements of the Bank would not have been possible without the far-sighted and proactive economic policies of the Government of Oman. In particular, he expressed his happiness with the strong financial results achieved by the Bank in the past year despite unprecedented challenges and strong competition in the banking sector. 

The Bank posted a net profit of OMR 163.36 million for the year ended 31 December 2020 compared to OMR 185.55 million reported for the year ended 31 December 2019.