Ooredoo has been short-listed for eight awards at the seventh annual Middle East Investor Relations Society (MEIRS) Awards to be held in Dubai next month.
As well as Ooredoo’s nomination for the grand prix – leading corporate for investor relations (Middle East), the firm’s CEO Nasser Marafih and CFO Ajay Bahri are up for regional best IR awards. The company is also short-listed for the leading corporate for investor relations (Qatar) award, and two of its IROs are nominated for the award for best investor relations professional (Qatar). Its final two nods are for subsidiaries in Oman and Kuwait.
Following Ooredoo with a spot on six short lists is the UAE’s DP World. As well as a nomination for the grand prix, the port giant’s CEO Mohammed Sharaf and CFO Yuvraj Narayan each receive a nomination. Fellow UAE company First Gulf Bank racks up four nominations, including one for the grand prix. Filling out the short list for that coveted award is Eastern Co (Egypt) with a total of three nominations, and Qatar National Bank, with two.
The Middle East nominations for best investor relations by a CEO are rounded out by Hussein Abaza of Commercial International Bank (Egypt), Talal Said Al Mamari of Oman Telecommunications Co (Oman) and Ahmad Julfar of Etisalat (UAE). The equivalent short list for best IR by a CFO is completed by Fraser Gregory of Bupa Arabia (Saudi Arabia), Osama Hassan of Eastern Co SAE (Egypt) and Karim Karoui of First Gulf Bank (UAE).
Interestingly, while just one company from Saudi Arabia – which opened up its market to foreign investment only in June – is nominated for a region-wide award, companies from Bahrain struggled to gain sufficient nominees for individuals in the country-specific award for best investor relations professional. A press release from MEIRS notes that the winner of this category ‘will be directly announced at the awards ceremony’ set to take place on September 16. The free-to-attend conference and awards will be held at The Address Dubai Mall.
Results for the 2015 IR awards are extracted from the 2015 Europe & MENA Extel Survey, says MEIRS.
