Shareholders of Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) have approved reducing the bank's paid up capital by 13.36 per cent, from BD115.4 ($303.8 million) to BD100 million through decreasing the number of shares from 1.1 billion to 1 billion shares, it was announced yesterday (March 30).

The proposal was approved during the bank's annual and extraordinary general meetings held at the InterContinental Regency, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The meeting also approved the deduction of issuance allowance worth BD1.5 million to counter accumulated losses registered at BD16.9 million to cover the difference after the reduction from the returned shares account after gaining official approval.

The AGM approved the transfer of BD304,641, the equivalent to 10 per cent of net profits, to the statutory reserve, and the allocation of BD2.7 million to retained profits.

KHCB chairman Dr Ahmed Al Mutawa said the bank reported net profit of BD3 million for last year when compared with a net loss of BD19.2 million in 2013.

The meeting also ratified the Rewards Framework as per the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) guidelines and authorised the board to draft strategies and plans and implement them as it deems suitable taking into considerations any amendments that may arise according to current conditions.

The board's recommendation was also approved, with regard to allocating KHCB shares for trade on the Bahrain Bourse, worth a maximum value of 10 per cent of the total paid up capital, following the approval of the CBB.

“During the meeting, agreement was also granted on making amendments to the bank's Articles of Association in line with CBB requirements pertaining to rewards terms and conditions and authorisation was given to the board of directors to appoint a suitable party to implement the discussed and approved motions,” KHCB chief executive Khalil Al Meer said. - TradeArabia News Service