Regionally listed companies and industry professionals with exceptional performance in Investor Relations (IR) during the last year were recognized at the recently held 11th Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) Awards ceremony. The ceremony followed the MEIRA Annual Conference, the region's largest event dedicated to investor relations. The Awards Ceremony was a much-awaited highlight which attracted over 120 top-tier industry professionals, regulators and stock exchanges as well as representatives of MEIRA's member companies. The event recognized the achievements of winners in three main categories including the best IR teams, annual reports and IR websites in the Middle East. For the first time in 2019, the best IR website was selected through a judging process conducted by a panel of judges comprised of MEIRA representatives in collaboration with experts in the field. As in previous years, the process to select the winners in the best practice category was run in collaboration with research company Extel Survey – Institutional Investor. Saudi's Al Rajhi bank was the biggest gainer, grabbing multiple awards in the best practice category to become the first Saudi bank to lead the awards. Commenting on the awards, Andrew Tarbuck, MEIRA Chair, said: "The Middle East has seen a tremendous rise in efforts to implement best practice in IR and corporate governance to accommodate the current demands from regional and international investors. This year, we saw stiff competition between companies across the region, further demonstrating the commitment to the quality of IR in the Middle East. For the first time this year, we had banks that were not in the UAE lead the award list, clearly illustrating the regional drive towards excellent IR. We would like to congratulate the winners and look forward to continuing to support all MEIRA members and IR professionals in raising the bar and promoting the development of the region's capital markets". Winners of the 2019 MEIRA awards are: Grand Prix - Leading Corporate for Investor Relations - Middle East • Al Rajhi Bank Best Investor Relations by CEO - Middle East • Hussein Abaza, Commercial International Bank - CIB Best Investor Relations by CFO - Middle East • Abdullah Ali Alkhalifa, Al Rajhi Bank Best Investor Relations Website - Middle East - Winner • DXB Entertainments Best Investor Relations Website - Middle East – 2nd place • ADNOC Distribution Best Investor Relations Website - Middle East – 3rd place • Ooredoo Qatar Best Annual Report – Print Category - Middle East - Winner • Saudi Airlines Catering Best Annual Report – Print Category - Middle East – 2nd place • Qatar National Bank Best Annual Report – Print Category - Middle East – 3rd place • Almarai Best Annual Report – Digital Category - Middle East - Winner • Saudi Telecom Company (STC) Best Annual Report – Digital Category - Middle East – 2nd place • DP World Best Annual Report – Digital Category - Middle East – 3rd place • Saudi Airlines Catering Leading Corporate for Investor Relations – Bahrain • Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) Leading Corporate for Investor Relations – Egypt • Commercial International Bank - CIB Best Investor Relations Professional – Egypt • Sherif Khalil, Commercial International Bank (CIB) Leading Corporate for Investor Relations – Kuwait • National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Best Investor Relations Professional – Kuwait • Amir Hanna, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Leading Corporate for Investor Relations - Jordan • Arab Bank Leading Corporate for Investor Relations - Lebanon • BLOM Bank Best Investor Relations Professionals - Lebanon • Alexandre Mouradian, BLOM Bank • Fadi Osseiran, BLOM Bank Leading Corporate for Investor Relations - Palestine • Bank of Palestine Leading Corporate for Investor Relations – Oman • Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) Best Investor Relations Professional – Oman • Srikanth Acharya, Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) Leading Corporate for Investor Relations - Saudi Arabia • Al Rajhi Bank Best Investor Relations Professional - Saudi Arabia • Amr Sager, Al Rajhi Bank Leading Corporate for Investor Relations – UAE • First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) Best Investor Relations Professional – UAE • Sofia El Boury, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) Best Improved Investor Relations Team – Blue-Chip • Almarai Best Improved Investor Relations Team – Large Cap • EK Holding Best Improved Investor Relations Team – Small & Medium Cap • eXtra — SG
