FGB to reduce foreign stake to 15 per cent

The non-ordinary general assembly of First Gulf Bank (FGB) agreed in its meeting held yesterday at Shangri-La Hotel in Abu Dhabi to reduce the percentage of foreign ownership from 30 per cent to 15 per cent.

It also agreed to issue Dh4 billion inconvertible debt bonds (tier one capital notes) to Abu Dhabi Government.

"The main reason behind the decrease in the percentage of foreign ownership in FGB was the withdrawal of liquidity from markets and from FGB by big financial institutions since the beginning of international financial crisis.

"That had an impact on both Abu Dhabi's economy and FGB," Abdulhamid Saeed, FGB's Managing Director and board member, told Emirates Business after the general assembly.

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