Qatar National Bank, which has a history of buying stakes in small foreign banks, purchased about 23.77 per cent of UAE's Commercial Bank International (CBI) yesterday.
QNB's move to own a share of CBI is motivated by its desire to tap into the growing economy of the UAE, particularly the financing opportunities arising from Abu Dhabi's development plans.
"This is more about their desire to increase their corporate banking [portfolio] than expanding their retail banking business," said Radwa el Swaify, an analyst at Beltone Financial in Cairo.
Abu Dhabi has set ambitious growth plans that require trillions of dollars of financing.
To get a piece of the action, several international banks have opened offices in the capital this year, including Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays.
QNB, whose first half earnings grew 54 per cent from the same period last year - including a 27 per cent growth in loans and Islamic financing - has capitalised on Qatar's development and its close relationship with public and private sectors to strengthen its balance sheet.
It has then used its financial muscle to expand into other Arab markets.
QNB owns 50 per cent of Tunisian-Qatari Bank and a 49 per cent stake in Qatar National Bank-Syria.
Raj Madha, an analyst at EFG-Hermes in Dubai, said buying shares in CBI is consistent with QNB's history of making inexpensive acquisitions to penetrate new markets.
With assets of Dh11 billion (US$2.3bn), CBI has nine branches in six emirates.
Mr Madha thinks that both companies mutually agreed to the purchase - versus a hostile take over - so they can increase their marketing abilities.
QNB wants to gain corporate clients in the UAE while the relatively small CBI can tap into the infrastructure the much larger Qatari bank offers.
QNB, which is 50 per cent owned by Qatar Investment Authority, bought 297.69 million shares or a 23.77 per cent stake in CBI. Public shareholders own 45 per cent of CBI. Another nine per cent is held by Emirates International Investment Company, which counts members of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, the Al Nahyans, among major shareholders.
@Email:mjalili@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
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The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now