"The Letter of Intent with Bank Kesawan supports QNB's international expansion plans, which in recent years have become an integral part of the Bank's growth strategy and commitment to diversify the sources of its revenue," Qatar National said in the statement.
Qatar National's foreign operations accounted for 34 percent of deposits last quarter and 18 percent of loans and advances, according to figures provided by the bank. The lender operates branches, offices and affiliates in 24 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, according to today's statement.
Jakarta-based Bank Kesawan runs 33 branches in Indonesia and has total assets of about 2.3 trillion rupiah ($255 million), according to today's statement.
AlBaraka Banking Group, the largest publicly traded lender in Bahrain, delayed a plan to purchase Bank Kesawan, Ramzi Zuhdi, a director of Islamic banking at Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, said in March 2009.
Qatar National shares rose 1.6 percent to 142.9 riyals on the Qatar Exchange, the highest close since August 2008.
--Editors: Peter Branton, Andrew Clapham
Source : http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/08/31/bloomberg1376-L82D8E6TTDS001-3V8SK87LM9HTN0AEUQ5NMOB1SA.DTL - Aug 31, 2010
Qatar National Bank may acquire Bank Kesawan - Whilst Al Baraka is an Islamic bank - and most probably would have turned Bank Kesawan into a Syariah bank, it cannot be confirmed from the above news item is QNB will do so. QNB indeed operates partly as a conventional bank (QNB) and as an Islamic bank (QNB Al Islami).
ReplyDeleteThe news that Al Baraka would have "delayed a plan to purchase Bank Kesawan" is - on the other hand - a bit odd - given their continuous presence through the Representative Office in Jakarta.
Wait and see - two times : what QNB will do with the MoU and later on with Bank Kesawan AND what Al Baraka will do next.