Three Bahraini firms in Forbes Top 100 List

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Forbes Middle East’s annual list of the top-listed companies in the region for the year 2023 has included three Bahraini firms: Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Bank ABC, and the National Bank of Bahrain.

GCC companies dominate 91 percent of the list, with Saudi Arabia being the most represented with 33 entries, followed by the UAE with 28, Qatar with 16, and Kuwait with nine.

Aramco leads the list with $604.4 billion in sales and a market value of $2.1 trillion, followed by SABIC, Qatar’s QNB Group, and the Saudi National Bank.

Alba, placed 50th, is the Middle East’s largest producer of aluminium, with a production of more than 1.6 million metric tonnes in 2022.

It is 69.38 percent owned by Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, while SABIC Industrial Investments Company owns 20.62 percent.

In 94th place, Bank ABC offers international wholesale banking services through a network of 145 branches across five continents and 15 countries.

The bank’s net profit increased by 63.3 percent to $209 million in 2022.

The Central Bank of Libya and the Kuwait Investment Authority are its major shareholders. Placed 94th, the National Bank of Bahrain is the last Bahraini entity on the list.

Established in 1957, NBB operates in Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

The bank owns 78.8 percent of the Bahrain Islamic Bank, which operates under an Islamic retail banking licence. In 2022, NBB reported a 28.5 percent increase in net profits to $188 million, compared to $145.9 million in 2021. Usman Ahmed assumed his role as Group CEO of NBB in January 2023.