By Satish Kanady
DOHA: JP Morgan will be the lead manager for Doha Bank’s upcoming share sale, the bank’s Group CEO Dr R Seetharaman said here yesterday.
Qatar’s fourth-biggest lender announced early this month that it will increase its capital by 50 percent. The idea is to initially raise capital by 25 percent by offering the shares and expand the capital by another 25 percent through issuing global depositary receipts (GDR). The issuance of the GDR and shares will be a ‘one composite deal’. “Regarding the issuance of rights, we have the technical know-how. Still capital right is one aspect the lead manager will look into,” Dr Seetharaman said.
He said the details of the rights issue will be announced after the extraordinary shareholders meeting scheduled to be held on February 20, 2013. The offering will be held after an extraordinary shareholders meeting on the same day.
“We are working on the technical aspects of the issuance. We need to create the prospects. It needs to go to international markets and road shows.”
On Doha Bank’s international expansion plans, Dr Seetharaman said the bank is keen on cross-border business. “We have got very successful commercial gates around the world, from Japan to London. We have aspirations to go further”, he said.
He said Qatar’s SME sector is doing very well. But it needs to focus on Corporate discipline. Banks and financial institutions need to take calculated risks in terms of granting loans to the start-ups. Business discipline is becoming an issue in the SME sector. “Doha Bank has many models with Qtel and Qatar Development Bank. We have successful relationships with SME sector. Our dedicated SMEs programme TATWEER is doing really well”, he said. The Peninsula
