NBK ‘best’ corporate for investor relations
MEIRA awards ceremony
Mrs Nabila M. Al-Anjari
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 8: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) was awarded “Best Corporate for Investor Relations” in Kuwait by the Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) and the Head of Investor Relations at NBK, Amir Hanna, was awarded “Best Investor Relations Professional” in Kuwait. The awards were distributed in the ceremony held recently in Dubai to honor leading companies and individuals who demonstrated best practices in investor relations (IR) across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The awards are based on the votes of hundreds of analysts and investment managers from the world’s largest investment banks who took part of Extel Thomson Reuters’ survey. In addition to the award of best corporate for investor relations in Kuwait, NBK has also been selected among the top five institutions in the MENA region for Investor Relations practices. The voting and the awards reflect NBK’s adoption of the highest standards in transparency and governance, in addition to the bank’s efforts to improve its outreach to investors around the world.
MEIRA conference focused this year on accelerating efforts toward industry best practices. This year’s conference ran under the theme “The IR hyperloop: Driving Transformation to Unlock Tomorrow’s Value” and examined the latest trends and developments in the industry.
“The award categories included: the top performing IR Officers, leading Corporates, CEO’s, CFO’s in IR in the ME region, leading corporates and professionals on a country level across the region, and companies that demonstrated the best year-on-year improvement in IR practice overall, best annual report, and best IR website.” “The rigorous selection process is run every year with leading global benchmarks assessors, including Extel, MerchantCantos and Comprend, providing the leading standard for the region in industry recognition for outstanding performance”.
Investor’s Trust and Management Support
“NBK’s selection as the Best Corporate for Investor Relations in Kuwait and among the top five in the MENA region reflects the Bank’s advanced institutional framework. This is the outcome of best-in-class transparency and professionalism in the communication with the investment community around the world which is also reflected in NBK’s relationship with the investment community” said Amir Hanna, Head of Investor Relations at NBK.
Hanna also added that “NBK is among the first institutions in the region to adopt a full transparency policy in its external communications while adhering to the highest international standards in corporate governance. This was clearly demonstrated by the establishment of one of the first fully dedicated Investor Relations departments in the region which emphasizes the effective role of the executive management to adhere to best standards in transparency and dedicated commitment to the Bank’s shareholders as well as the investment community.”
Honoring the Distinguished
Commenting at the awards ceremony, Alex MacDonald Vitale, Chairman of MEIRA, said: “Each year, we acknowledge our peers in the industry who have truly demonstrated leading excellence in IR practice either at an individual or industry level. Through these awards, we have established a competitive benchmark for professionals and organizations in the ME to further advance best practice in IR across the region. It is very encouraging to see continuous improvement year-on-year, with and ever broader cross-section of industry participants and winners represented in each of the categories”.
At the Conference, MEIRA launched the ME IR Practitioners Survey report, in partnership with recruitment specialists Hanson Search, which looked in detail at the role of IR in the region today and career related aspects for the profession of IR in the ME, including compensation, team structure, reporting, gender parity and other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
MEIRA is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the role of investor relations and industry standards in corporate governance. Its mission is to enhance the reputation, efficiency and attractiveness of capital markets in the ME and seeks to foster increased dialogue among its members. MEIRA also encourages its members to exchange and adopt best practices in the field of IR and in partnership with financial markets, regulatory bodies and other market participants.
A photo from MEIRA awards ceremony