BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: The shareholders of International Islamic (QIIB) yesterday gave approval to the bank to raise up to QR3bn (about $824m) through a capital-boosting Sukuk which will not be convertible into ordinary shares.
The bank may use the capital to finance its new projects and expansion plans as it announced to open six new branches across the country.
The bank’s general assembly gave the nod for the issuance of the Sukuk that shall be eligible for inclusion as Addition Tier 1 Capital in accordance with Basel III, in compliance with the instructions of Qatar Central Bank (QCB)
“We took approval for QR3bn, but we will go in stages. Initially in 2015, we will issue the Sukuk for QR1bn, and gradually, as and when required, we will raise more capital,” said Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei, CEO of QIIB.
Al Shaibei, speaking to this newspaper on the sidelines of the AGM, added: “The year 2014 was a successful one, and for 2015 we have a lot of plans as we are planning to increase our equity base.”
He said the QIIB has aggressive expansion plans, which include opening of six new branches at different strategic locations, in addition to opening a new corporate branch at Grand Hamad Street (popular as Bank Street), which is set to begin operations from the next week.
The Shariah-compliant financial service provider is also establishing strategic partnerships with several institutions in Qatar as well as overseas. However, he did not provide further details about it. “Although there are a lot of challenges to be faced during 2015, but we have good plans to overcome these obstacles, and we are very optimistic about it,” he said and added that the bank has plans to launch some new products for retail and corporate customers.
Commenting on the impact of oil crisis, he said: “Since Qatar is a well-diversified economy, which does not depend only on oil revenues, so there is no dearth of investment opportunities in the booming economy.”
Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of QIIB, in his address, said: “As the Qatari economy witnessed an unparalleled boom that impressed the whole word and created a competitive environment, we, at QIIB, seek to benefit from this opportunity to achieve the highest returns for our shareholders and customers.”
The AGM approved all the other agenda of the meeting, including the Board of Directors’ recommendation to distribute cash profits of QR4 for each share (equal to 40 percent of the bank’s capital). The total revenues of the bank in 2014 reached over QR1.51bn, while net profits amounted to about QR825.81m, registering a growth of 10.1 percent compared to the previous year. The Peninsula
