TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA FORBES Middle East has unveiled its ‘Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Business Women in Listed Companies’ ranking.

Leading the pack in the ‘Top 50 Richest Arab Business Women in Listed Companies’ category is Sheikha Amna bint Mohammed al Thani, a stakeholder in the Mannai Corporation (MCCS) with $86.9 million to her name.

Coming in second is Maryam Khalfan al Naeemi from the UAE who owns a sizeable stake in the Commercial Bank International with $69.1 million.

The third position was given to Laila Gomaa Gowaily, an Egyptian national with a small stake in the Maridive & Oil Services Co with $34.6 million.

According to a Forbes press release issued on Tuesday, the ranking was the first of its kind and it focuses on the role of Arab businesswomen over a wide range of public listed companies and sectors.

Shaikha al Bahar, CEO of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, whose bank flourished under her leadership amassing an impressive $1 billion profits and $2.3 billion in revenues, led the overall pack as the most powerful Arab businesswoman.

Following in a close second is Lubna Suliman Olayan, the Saudi national who built a formidable reputation in banking and who now serves as a board member of the Saudi Hollandi Bank. The third spot was given to Dina Shoman, executive vice president of branding and board member of Arab Bank.

Compiling the research into a single database under strict criteria which includes the annual financial performance for the company in 2011, shares held by individuals in the company, and the market value of the company as of April 1, 2012. Beginning with a total of 219 women, the list was successfully reduced from 219 to 100 women, said the release.

Our list not only helped identify the most powerful leading women in the region, but helped us identify the key sectors in which these women have enjoyed success, the release added.

Included amongst the top sectors are: banking with 29 women, manufacturing with 18, investments 16, services 14 and insurance with 8. The list was also broken down by geographical region with Egypt taking the centre stage with 20 prestigious women in key leadership roles. This was followed by Kuwait with 17, Jordan with 13, and followed closely by UAE, Bahrain, Oman, and Palestine, with 8 women each respectively. Syria continued the list with 7, Saudi Arabia with 5, and both Qatar and Lebanon with 3 each.

Editor-in-chief of Forbes Middle East Khuloud al Omian said, “Historically, women have not had an equal platform to many of the societal levers of power as their male counterparts.

However, much has changed over the past half century.

Finally, we are witnessing a time when women are solidifying their positions themselves substantially and becoming more successful with record-breaking momentum.

And keeping in line with breaking records, collectively, the total net worth of all the Arab business women in the stock market reached an astounding $498.2 million.”