Author: qfbadmin

QFIB announces today the exit of its entire stake in QCon for USD77 million

QFIB, the Shariah compliant independent bank in Qatar authorized by QFCRA  announces today the exit of its entire stake in QCon for USD77 million, which has been sold to an undisclosed Qatari investor. QCon is the pre-eminent EPC contractor based in Qatar. In 2009, QFIB acquired a 41% stake in QCon as a part of consortium that bought a 100% of Qatar Shipping share in the company.

Emad Mansour, CEO of QFIB commented: “We are delighted to announce the successful exit of QCon. The company’s major growth and achievements over the last few years reflects the success of QFIB’s investment strategy to acquire stakes in leading companies across the MENA region. QFIB has supported QCon’s management team through a difficult trading period, providing hands-on advice and enabling region-wide expansion. This significant exit further validates QFIB’s business model even in challenging economic circumstances. We have proven our vision and capabilities in sourcing great businesses with strong fundamentals and backing good management teams, thus making sound investments and decisive exits. We wish QCon all the best in its future achievements and are happy to have played a major role in its progress.”

For the third consecutive year, QFIB sponsors the 8th Private Equity International Conference in Dubai

Addressing key developments in the evolving entrepreneurial climate in the Middle East since the Arab Spring, Emad Mansour, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB), further explores the vital factors required to support the growing base of entrepreneurs at the 8th Private Equity International Middle East conference (PEI). Mansour joins other PE practitioners at the session entitled ‘Growing Pains:  from Traders to Conglomerates.

QFIB, the QFCRA authorized bank, sponsors this platform for the third consecutive year. This year’s conference titled PEI Capital Connect: MENA 2012 is being held under the patronage of His Excellency, Abdullah Mohammed Saleh, and the Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).  The conference runs from April 18th -19th, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Dubai

Speaking about QFIB’s long-term association with the conference-series, Emad Mansour commented, “This sponsorship is part of QFIB’s commitment to stay abreast of the challenges facing the PE industry in the MENA region and its transformation after the global financial crisis and the Arab spring. This year the conference will focus on the entrepreneurship highlighting the rise of SME’s and the importance of operational partnership in creating lasting value on investments.  It will also examine the different ways to facilitate and optimize SME growth in the region and beyond”

The two-day conference with the theme of ‘Shifting sands: Strategies for finding a solid foothold’ will address the changing relationship between PE practitioners and entrepreneurship opportunities in the region with a special focus on the Saudi market, a strategic market for QFIB. Aiming to be the best platform for private equity in the MENA region, the conference continues to connect leading players who are currently shaping the region’s private equity industry.

QFIB will also co-sponsor the Bloomberg Financial Summit taking place on 16th April at the Ritz Carlton in Doha The two day event organized by Bloomberg Link in partnership with the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, will address the challenges affecting asset managers, opportunities in various asset classes and the changing landscape of Private Equity.   Emad Mansour, QFIB CEO will join a panel entitled ‘Banking 2012’, that will examine the changing climate of investment banking within the current economic backdrop.  Mansour will be detailing solutions to safeguard mergers and acquisitions and how to address the increasing corporate reluctance towards paid banking advisory services.

QFIB held its Annual General Meeting(AGM) followed by an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on 3rd April, 2012.

Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB), Qatar’s independent investment bank regulated by Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, held its Annual General Meeting(AGM) followed by an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on 3rd April, 2012.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved the Bank’s audited financial results for 2011, QFIB’s third full year of operation, marking a number of significant milestones across all of QFIB’s business units.  The Extraordinary General Meeting addressed several issues including QFIB’s proposed listing on Qatar’s Stock Exchange by the end of 2012.

QFIB’s Chairman, Abdulla Bin Fahad Bin Ghorab Al Marri presented an overview of the Bank’s activities and the Bank’s financial statement for the year ended December 2011, stating: “2011 was a year full of challenges for investment banking in the region. The still-daunting European sovereign debt crisis and closer home, the Arab Spring certainly impacted the global and regional economies. Fortunately for us, the GCC economies were slightly shielded from this market instability mainly due to strong oil prices and robust government spending.”

He added: “Navigating the prevailing market conditions, we continued to maintain a strategic and prudent approach to principal investment acquisitions and when managing liquidity. The result is a sound balance sheet coupled with strong performance and dividend distribution. Furthermore, winning the accolade of “Best Investment Bank in the GCC” in the Islamic Business and Finance Category from CPI financial is a clear testament that the bank is on the right path to becoming a regional investment player”.

QFIB reported total income of $233.7 million (QR850.6 million) and a net income of US$ 25.8 (QR 94 million), representing a 20% increase over 2010.   Total capital invested to date reached $333 million (QR 1.212 billion).

For the second consecutive year, the AGM ratified the distribution of a cash dividend of 6% of paid share capital to QFIB shareholders.

The Shari’ah Supervisory Board Report and the Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31st December, 2011

were also presented.  The AGM also marked the election of the Board of Directors for another period of three years and the re-election of the Bank’s auditors for a period of twelve months.

The Extraordinary General Meeting, approved filing of an application with the Qatar Financial Markets Authority to list QFIB shares on the Qatar Exchange in accordance with the laws of Qatar. This strategic move will provide the existing shareholders with the ability trade their shares on the Qatar Exchange and will provide QFIB with access to capital for future acquisitions and growth plans.

In order to facilitate the listing process the EGM approved to change the currency denomination of the Bank from US Dollar to Qatari Riyals.  This move will align the bank with its Qatari listed counterparts in terms of financial reporting and performance evaluation.  Furthermore, the EGM approved to re-adjust the authorized capital of the bank from US$ 1bn (QAR 3.65bn) to US$ 550m (QAR 2bn) in a step to waive the remaining non paid portion of the authorized capital.

The EGM also approved to amend the Bank’s name to become “Qatar First Bank”.  This initiative will better reflect the future plans of the Bank, where it hopes to build upon its strong foundation and successful track record to become a full-fledged financial institution offering a suite of services ranging from commercial banking and investment banking to asset management.

Milestones for 2011

• To reflect QFIB’s commitment to geographic diversification, the bank made three strategic investments in key sectors; financial services, oil & gas and food & beverage industry in 2011.
• In May 2011, to reflect geographical diversification the Bank acquired a 10.3 percent shareholding in Watania Takaful, an innovative, newly established Islamic insurance company based in Abu Dhabi.  In June 2011, the Bank acquired a  US$ 16 million shareholding in Kuwait Energy Company (KEC).  KEC is a leading regional independent oil and gas exploration and production company.
• To reflect sectorial diversification into the food and beverage (F&B) sector QFIB acquired a 15% stake in Al Rifai International Holding, the Lebanese manufacturer and retailer of nuts, kernels and complimentary snacks, with operations in the Middle East and Europe.
• Reaffirming its stature as a growing Shari’ah compliant investment bank, the Bank was appointed as a co-lead manager for the issuance of the Sharjah Islamic Bank sukuk. The transaction was well received resulting in a nine-fold oversubscription.
• Tebyan Asset Management, the joint venture asset management arm of QFIB, structured the Tebyan CHIME Opportunities Fund, the first of its kind Shari’ah compliant product to offer investors a gateway into the New Silk Route, the new economic axis of the Arab-Indo-China regions.
• The bank continued to develop its IT infrastructure to support the growing needs of the business. QFIB is the first bank to employ the cloud computing technology which resulted in a reduction of a substantial amount of capital expenditure and running maintenance cost. This led QFIB to win the accolade of the “Best Financial Service Industry Deployment of the Year” by Computer News Middle East.
• QFIB won the accolade of “Best Investment Bank in the GCC 2011” in the Islamic Business & Finance category from CPI Financial, a leading publishing house based in the UAE.

QFIB has announced the sponsorship of the ‘International Schools Arabic Debating Championship’ (ISADC2012), the first to be held in Arabic language

Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB) Qatar’s first independent Islamic investment bank regulated by the QFC Regulatory Authority, has announced the sponsorship of the ‘International Schools Arabic Debating Championship’ (ISADC2012), the first to be held in Arabic language.  The competition will take place during the period of 1st – 4th April at Education City with the participation of 21 teams from the Arab world.

The sponsorship demonstrates QFIB’s commitment and emphasis on educating and developing the youth in Qatar. At its core, QFIB’s corporate social responsibility strategy focuses on supporting local initiatives that provide the youth with the right skills and tools to support the nation’s vision in its efforts to become a knowledge-based society.

Emad Mansour, CEO of QFIB commented, “We are delighted to be part of such an enriching national initiative which comes at a time when dialogue is an essential factor in driving change in  the Arab world.  This debate-series contributes to fostering positive dialogue and teaching the youth to respect each other’s opinion and views without a fight. The fact that the debates will be held in Arabic adds to the importance of the competition, as it provides the student with the added skill of debating in a vocabulary rich language.  We thank Qatar Debates for such an initiative which I am confident will be a valuable learning experience for all participants.”

Dr. Hayat Al Maarafi, the Executive Director of QatarDebate Center, a member of Qatar Foundation, commented: “we thank Qatar First Investment Bank for believing in the mission of QatarDebate.  Their valuable support has contributed in successfully organizing an International Arabic Debate Championship to be held for the first time in Qatar and the entire world.  We look forward to working together on organizing similar initiatives”.

Organized by Qatar Debates, a member of Qatar Foundation, the debate competition series provides students from across the Arab world, the unique opportunity to engage in a positive dialogue, express and exchange opinions as well as bond and share their experiences.