Dubai, Aug. 24, 2004
PTI
Oman's largest bank BankMuscat, today picked up 75 million shares worth
Rs 30 crores in Centurion Bank's rights issue on the first day itself.
The foreign bank, which has 33 per cent holding in the
Centurion Bank, bought the shares at Rs 4.0 per share soon after the
Rs 90.8 crore rights issue opened today.
"We are glad to confirm that we have fully exercised
our rights option on the opening day of the Centurion Bank's rights
issue," BankMuscat Chief Executive Abdul Razak Ali Issa, said in
a statement here.
Issa said the funds have already been transferred to
the Mumbai-based bank.
He had earlier said the decision to fully subscribe
to the rights issue was in keeping with its long-term commitment to
India and the confidence it has in the new management of Centurion Bank.
"The bank has shown excellent progress over the
past year and with the Reserve Bank recently granting it permission
to further expand its presence in the country, we are confident that
the bank is on a positive growth path and will have much to offer to
the discerning Indian retail consumer in the days to come," Ali
had said.
BankMuscat had recently opened credit lines worth Rs
188 crores (USD 40 million) to assist the Centurion Bank in its inter-bank
and trade finance business.
The foreign bank had also recently signed an MoU with
the Centurion Bank to jointly explore opportunities in the fast growing
NRI business segment.