GulfBase Live Support
Leave a message and our representative will contact you soon
05/04/2018 06:22 AST
Qatar National Bank (QNB) aims to increase its profit by 5-8 percent this year and loans and investments by 10-12 percent, helped by expansion into faster-growing Southeast Asia markets, its CEO told Reuters.
QNB, the largest bank by assets in the Middle East and Africa, is active in Egypt and Turkey and has made forays into Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Indonesia and China.
"Our strategy and vision is to become among the leading banks in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. We have expanded our region to include Southeast Asia by 2020 and to be one of the main players in the Southeast Asia region," said Group Chief Executive Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari.
The bank reported a 6 percent rise in annual profit to 13.1 billion riyals ($3.59 billion) in 2017.
QNB would look for markets that are growing faster than Qatar's growth of 2-4 percent a year, Chief Financial Officer Ramzi Talat Mari told Reuters. Potential acquisitions should control at least 4-5 percent of the local market and have an internal rate of return of no less than 15 percent within three years.
Al Kuwari said QNB had no plans to issue public US dollar bonds in the near future despite still having room to do so under an approved programme of up to $17.5 billion of international bonds, of which it has utilised only 60-70 percent.
"At the moment we don't need it, we are very liquid," he said.
QNB has recently used various types of debt instruments, including Kangaroo and Formosa bonds, to refill its coffers in an effort to diversify funding resources amid the blockade imposed on Qatar by other Arab states.
QNB has borrowed over $2.3 billion through private placements this year.
Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied gas, is planning to expand its capacity by almost a quarter to 100 million tonnes from the current 77 million by adding new trains as well as building new petrochemical units together with global oil majors and other partners.
The projects are estimated to cost up to $40 billion and al-Kuwari said QNB would take an active role in lending to the new phase of Qatar's hydrocarbon boom, which is set to power its economy for the next few decades.
"Qatar Petroleum has a lot of money... But in terms of financing, we want to take a bigger role in this. We are bigger now," he said.
The Peninsula
21/08/2025
QNB has achieved another major milestone by becoming the first bank in the GCC to enable Digital Wallet acceptance through a single, unified integration on the Mastercard Gateway Hosted Checkout pla
The Peninsula
18/08/2025
QNB was named Best Trade Finance Bank in Qatar by GTR (Global Trade Review) Leaders in Trade Awards - Middle East & Africa 2025. This recognition reflects the Group's deep-rooted expertise in structu
Gulf Times
12/08/2025
QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has organised the QNB Blue Pledge, a global initiative aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preserving the ma
The Peninsula
Ticker | Price | Volume |
---|
28/08/2025
Adnoc announced on Wednesday that it has signed a 15-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IndianOil), India's largest integrated and diversified energy company, fo
Khaleej Times
28/08/2025
In a significant step towards enhancing its digital transformation journey, Kuwait Airways signed a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with Impulse International for Telecommunications, laying the foun
Kuwait Times
28/08/2025
Vodafone Qatar has announced its expansion of Postpaid services through its new 'You Deserve It!' campaign, introducing new connectivity and digital lifestyle offerings to meet the evolving needs of
Gulf Times
28/08/2025
Commercial Bank, a leader in innovative digital banking solutions, has launched Visa Commercial Pay (VCP), a groundbreaking virtual payment platform designed to transform how Small and Medium-Sized E
The Peninsula
28/08/2025
Abu Dhabi-based petrochemicals company Borouge has announced that it has collaborated with Yokogawa, a leading provider of advanced automation technologies and solutions, to conduct a proof-of-concep
Trade Arabia