Muscat, March 11th 2015

In celebration of International Women's Day 2015, HSBC Bank Oman S.A.O.G. organized a panel discussion at its Head Office in Al Khuwair to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women in the workplace. This event is in line with the Bank's efforts to foster an open dialogue culture and enrich staff engagement. The panel included Honourable Naashia Al Kharusi, State Council Member as well as HSBC Bank Oman CEO, Andrew Long, and the Bank's Deputy General Manager and Head of Business Management, Commercial Banking, Nahla Al Kharusi.

The panel had a lively interaction from attending staff who had an  opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable lessons from the panellists' experience. During the event, the panellists discussed the various opportunities and challenges facing women in the evolving corporate world; topics discussed included gender equality; improving work life balance and working in a male dominated culture. Honourable Naashia Al Kharusi provided an inspiring glimpse into her career life, the challenges she faced, and the means of overcoming them. She said that every woman has to continuously seek further education and knowledge  to truly succeed.

HSBC's Nahla Al Kharusi also provided some insight into her life, sharing her experience as an Omani professional woman holding a senior role within a large multinational bank and how she successfully managed to be a full time mother, wife and daughter while performing as a full time banking professional.

Andrew Long, HSBC Bank Oman's CEO, said that career progression should be gender-independent with development opportunities to be earned based on competencies and proven achievements rather than on gender. Long went on to outline HSBC Bank Oman's efforts in providing equal opportunities to male and female staff and had plans put in place by the Bank to ensure female career progression.

International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8th each year, has been marked across the world for approximately 100 years. It aims to recognise women's achievements and encourage greater equality between the genders.

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HSBC in Oman
HSBC Bank Oman SAOG, as a proud local bank operating in Oman since 1948 and quoted on the local Muscat Securities Market, is majority  owned by the largest international bank operating in the Middle East.  Oman is an important market in the region for the HSBC Group and has one of the most stable political, social and economic environments in the region, with a growing economy supported by a young population and significant investments in infrastructure.

Oman is also a key access hub to the fast-growing trade corridors connecting the MENA region with Asia - a major focus for growth for HSBC. Its economy is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4%1 forecast from 2011 to 2016.

HSBC in the MENA Region
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international banking organisation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a presence in 11 countries across the region.  HSBC has operations in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon,  Algeria and the Palestinian Autonomous Area. In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 40% shareholder of Saudi British Bank (SABB), and a 49% shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom. HSBC also maintains a representative office in Libya.

This presence, the widest reach of any bank in the region, comprises some 295 offices and around 12,000 employees. In the year ending 31st December 2014, HSBC in the MENA region made a profit before tax of US$1.9bn.

HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from over 6,200 offices in over 74 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,634bn at 31st December 2014, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.

For more information, please contact:
Shaza Taher
Associate Media Relations Director
TRACCS Oman
Telephone: +968 24 649-099
Email: shaza.taher@traccs.net

© Press Release 2015