Jordan’s Social Security Corporation (SSC) on Monday purchased 400,000 Arab Bank shares from Kuwait's General Assembly for Investments in a deal worth around JD68.6 million ($96.7 million), reported the Jordan Times.
These were the shares Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was reported to have intended to buy from the Kuwaiti entity.
With Monday's transaction, the largest executed on the Amman bourse's trading floor, the SSC's stake in the bank jumped to 9.825 percent from 5.28 percent of the bank's JD88 million ($124.6 million) paid-up capital.
The state-owned corporation now owns 864,620 shares in the bank.
The shares sold for JD170.75 ($240) apiece, said the paper.
Labor Minister Eid Fayez, who is also SSC chairman, told the paper that the deal would secure the corporation a seat on the bank's board for the first time.
The Arab Bank's profits grew by 11.8 percent during the first half of this year compared to the same period the year before, to reach $167 million. With over 400 branches and offices worldwide, the bank shows a current balance sheet of $28.5 billion.
The bloc deal was executed by United Financial Investments, a brokerage firm associated with Jordan Kuwait Bank, which will be granted 50 per cent of the deal's commission.
Another 50 percent will be granted to the bourse's brokers – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
