Doha, 6 April 2013 - In a statement to the press, Mr. Ali Shareef Al Emadi, QNB Group Chief Executive Officer, presented an overall vision of the Group’s future plans to cooperate with NSGB team to continue its sustainable growth over the coming years. He also highlighted QNB Group’s new strategy to enter into the Egyptian banking sector through buying a share of 97.1% of in NSGB.
At the outset, Mr. Ali Shareef Al Emadi expressed his satisfaction in NSGB joining QNB Group stating that this move represents the largest acquisition in the financial sector in the Middle East and falls in line with the Group’s strategy to expand in selected markets across the region.
QNB Group CEO stated that Egypt has always been one of the top countries in the Group’s expansion plans, due to the strategic importance of the Egyptian market and its dynamic role that complements the Group’s aim to be the leading bank in the MENA region. He added that the strong financial position that NSGB enjoys, its network of branches across the country, and the capable & highly qualified staff, all together represent an opportunity to help us achieve those plans.
Concerning the Group’s plans in the coming period, Al-Emadi stated that the Group will work closely with the NSGB staff to best implement the Bank’s strategy, increase its activities in the Egyptian market, and serve different economic sectors which will contribute to Egypt’s economic growth.
QNB Group’s CEO asserted that NSGB has promising opportunities for expansion in the Egyptian market through increasing its network of branches and ATMs across different governorates and could see a doubling the number of the network during the coming five years. This will require increasing the number of staff and providing them with training programs as part of QNB Group policy to recruit talented staff and develop their capabilities.
He added that the team currently working at NSGB is more than capable of managing the Bank’s operations in a manner that achieves QNB’s strategy to increase its presence in the Egyptian market. There will also be a close cooperation between the teams of QNB and NSGB in several areas including information technology, operation, risk management, and corporate communications.
Building on its highly developed e-banking technology, QNB seeks to share its technological capacities with NSGB to offer safe advanced e-banking services to its clients through different channels including the internet and smartphones. By providing NSGB’s retail and corporate clients with more channels to conduct their banking services will give the bank a competitive advantage that would strengthens its position in the Egyptian market.
Playing an active role in supporting the growth of the Qatari economy, QNB enjoys an extensive long experience in project financing. NSGB will benefit from the Group’s financing expertise in its operations in the Egyptian market. Egypt is expected to witness major development and infrastructure projects that will contribute to Egypt’s economic growth. He added that QNB Group has extensive experience in providing specialized banking services, including financial advisory and private banking services. Through sharing this experience with NSGB, it will further improve its capabilities and increase its share in the Egyptian market.
Last year, the Group has extended its regional reach by acquiring stakes in various financial institutions including 49% of the Libya-based Commerce & Development Bank, which is one of the leading private sector banks in the country. The Group has also increased its share in several institutions, including the Iraqi-based Mansour Bank, the Tunisian-Qatari Bank, and Commercial Bank International (CBI) based in the United Arab Emirates. With the entry into in the Egyptian market, the Group now operates in more than 25 countries around the world. The will promote NSGB capacity to finance foreign trade and benefit from QNB wide network of correspondent banks that exceed 500.