QIIB expects final approval for JV Moroccan bank by Q3

QIIB is expecting final approval from the Moroccan authorities for its joint venture bank in the kingdom by the third quarter of this year, said CEO Abdulbasit A al-Shaibei.
“We have already established the company; the seed capital has been injected. What remains is just the final approval from the authorities in Morocco,” al-Shaibei told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the bank’s AGM at Ezdan Tower yesterday.
Last year, QIIB had signed a joint venture agreement with CIH Bank (Credit Immobilier et Hotelier), a Moroccan bank, for the establishment of a bank in the kingdom. This step was made based on a detailed feasibility study that was conducted by QIIB taking into consideration all factors such as the expected returns of the investment and other market factors.
“We have started hiring key people for the Moroccan company. We have started identifying the branches too. We have also got our IT systems ready. On the day we get the final approval, we can press the green button and go,” al-Shaibei said.
Established in 1920, CIH Bank has a long-standing banking tradition in Morocco.
Meanwhile, the bank’s shareholders approved the board of directors’ proposal to distribute 40% cash dividend on the nominal share value, which translates into QR4 per share.
In his report on behalf of the QIIB board of directors, the chairman and managing director, Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani, said: “QIIB was able to achieve significant increase and growth in its various banking activities over the past year, which was reflected on the positive reaction of clients and shareholders as well as their confidence in the bank’s ability, status and strong financial position.” Moreover, he said QIIB took important steps last year towards “rationalising the management and expanding its customers’ base” by increasing the quality of its services and its local presence.
Additionally, the bank had embarked upon a number of expansion projects outside Qatar.
The report noted that in 2015 QIIB posted a net profit of QR784.2mn and a total income of QR1.59bn.
Sheikh Dr Khalid said, “The continuous development achieved by QIIB confirms the active role we are playing in the Qatari economy, which has witnessed, for quite some time, a boom in its various sectors thanks to the support and patronage of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.”
He said, “Looked objectively at the results, we will see that development and growth were achieved in various items provisioned in the QIIB budget.  The numbers achieved reflect the successful execution of most of the plans and targeted growth rates, although we always seek to exceed expectations as it has a positive impact on the bank and its shareholders alike”.