Citi keeps 30% stake in Saudi American.

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Citicorp has maintained its 30% stake in the Saudi American Bank, or Samba, after the bank doubled its share capital to $640 million, Reuters has reported.

Shareholders of Samba, the biggest joint-venture bank in Saudi Arabia, on: Saturday ratified a plan to double the bank's share capital to $640 million as of May 14.

Citicorp officials could not be reached for comment on the capital increase.

Samba said Sunday that it would issue 12 million shares worth $320 million to existing shareholders on a one-for-one basis paid for from its statutory and general reserves.

"This will result in 24 million shares outstanding and will be held in a proportion of 70% by Saudi shareholders and 30% by non-Saudi shareholders," a bank statement said.

The statement noted that Saudi shareholders would hold 16.8 million shares in Samba, one of the most profitable banks in the kingdom. Citicorp will own 7.2 million shares.

Samba, whose stock is traded on the Saudi market, doubled its share capital to $320 million in 1993 by transferring $160 million from reserves to capital.

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