al khaliji

About al khaliji

al khaliji was incorporated in Doha in January 2007 with an aim to become a regional GCC and international bank offering conventional and Islamic banking services. Since incorporation, al khaliji completed its IPO and listing on the Qatar Bourse and raised QR 3.6 bn of capital, recruited 490 staff, successfully launched business lines (Corporate,SME, Premium, Islamic). In November 2008, al khaliji closed its acquisition of 100% of the share capital of BLC Bank (France) S.A., including an European Union wide banking license, one Paris branch and four branches in the UAE. This acquisition meant al khaliji became the largest wholly owned UAE branch network of any Qatari bank and a full EU banking license with a branch in Paris. Another recent highlight is that its stock was added to the Qatar Exchange 20 Index, a reflection of a variety of factors including the size of its market capitalisation and the number and value of shares traded.

Notes to Editors

al khaliji key milestones – Since our incorporation in January 2007, al khaliji has passed many key milestones on its journey towards delivering what we call "next generation banking" to our customers. Our fresh approach to banking informs everything we do, from communicating important financial information to our shareholders, listening to our customers and how we talk to and treat our fellow colleagues.

Highlights so far include:

2010

• Q2
  • we participated in "Project Qatar 2010", aiming to support Qatar’s Construction market by extending support to small businesses, medium enterprises and large corporates.
  • we launched our Classic and Platinum Visa credit cards.
  • we announced our participation in the QR 928 million dual currency Islamic Structured Murabaha Syndicated Facility for Turkey’s largest Islamic bank - Bank Asya -.
  • we opened our new full service Bin Omran branch.
  • we announced the initiation of merger talks with IBQ.
• Q1
  • we announced our 2nd General Assembly's resolutions as well as our Extraordinary General Assembly's resolutions. We launched our 2nd guaranteed structured deposit linked with crude oil price.
  • to increase opportunities for Qatari graduates, we launched the Qatari banking sector’s first Professional Development Programme, during our participation in the Qatar Career Fair.
  • we also launched our 2nd guaranteed structured deposit linked to crude oil price.

2009

• Q4
  • we hosted our first business banking forum in collaboration with KPMG and with the participation of the Ministry of Business and Trade with an aim to support the developments within the Qatar SME business community
  • we announced the launch of our first wealth management product al khaliji guaranteed structured deposit linked to Gold.
  • we also launched al khaliji France new website for On-Line banking services. We announced our new medium-term strategy.
• Q3 (490 staff) - we topped H&H Survey of listed companies in Qatar and banks across GCC. We launched the first Wealth Management structured product linked to Gold.
• Q2 (474 staff) -we cancelled the unpaid portion of our authorized capital and published our H1 2009 results showing an 8-fold increase in net profit.
• Q1 (490 staff) – we announced our first General Assembly’s resolutions as well as our Extraordinary General Assembly’s resolutions and completed the legal requirements for the acquisition of BLC Bank (France) S.A. which is now called “Al Khaliji France S.A.”

2008

• Q4 (520 staff) – we acquired 100% share capital of BLC Bank (France) S.A., we entered the DSM 20 Index with effect from 1 January 2009 and met local and global investors in Abu Dhabi as part of 2nd Annual HSBC MENA Investor Forum.
• َََQ3 (394 staff) – we opened our first full service branch on C-Ring Road. We arranged two regional deals worth over US$ 6.6bn contributing US$ 100mm for Dubai World and US$ 70mm for Orascom Telecom Iraq Corp.
• Q2 (317 staff) – we launched our retail banking operations in Qatar and opened “al khaliji Q-Post Centre” in West Bay. We also received a license from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to operate in the UAE for non banking activities. In the same quarter we received the approval to open Islamic banking branches in Qatar and we are joint lead manager for AED 600mm Sukuk issue for Almana Group.
• Q1 (260 staff) – we announced our Q1 2008 Interim Condensed Financial Statements and contributed US$ 75mm as one of the mandated lead arrangers in US$ 700mm financing deal for Barwa Real Estate Company.

2007

• Q4 (241 staff) – we launched our Corporate and Institutional Banking business ahead of schedule with key corporate deals including major loans for Q-Tel, Dubai World and Barwa. We participated in the Qatari Capital Markets Day at the London Stock Exchange.
• Q3 (137 staff) – our shares began trading on the Doha Securities Market. We entered negotiations to purchase the UAE assets of BLC Bank (France) S.A.
• Q2 (61 staff) – our QR 1.2bn Initial Public Offering introduced a new, quick, transparent and fair process for allocating shares attracting 86,547 investors.
• Q1 (2 staff) – our head office in West bay, Doha was established and we launched our QR 2.88bn private equity placement.