Alba's standing amongst the world's leading aluminium smelters was bolstered with top regional honours the company received for its relations with investors, business operations and interactions with external entities.

Alba's corporate website notched first place in Bahrain as well as the second place in the Middle East region at the 2012 M: Communications/ KWDigital Middle East Web Ranking Survey after being placed 47th in 2011 in the same survey, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Alba was also chosen as the Best Company for Investor Relations in Bahrain at the fourth Middle East Investor Relations Society (ME-IR) Annual Awards Conference in Abu Dhabi.

The survey included 138 of the largest listed companies from nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The winners were voted in an independent IR survey conducted by Thomson Reuters' Extel - reputedly the largest IR survey in the region since 2008.

"Corporate success is a team effort and these honours bear testimony to the fact that everyone in Alba has a role to play in strengthening the company's reputation as a leading smelter," said chief executive Tim Murray.

"As a company we are committed to set benchmarks in corporate governance, transparency and accountability, and these awards indicate that we are moving on the right track.

"I like to congratulate everyone in Alba who was involved with the corporate website and investor relations, and like to wish them continued success."

In November, Alba was praised for its success in implementing its Code of Conduct, and was selected among seven regional companies to be included in a landmark report on corporate good practices in accountability and transparency.

The report was published by Pearl Initiative, a private sector-led non-profit organisation set up to improve transparency and accountability in the Arab world.-TradeArabia News Service