National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwan and Global Investment House in new partnership

The convertible bond will be issued by NBQ to Global for a total consideration of Dhs2.36bn. Global shall have the option to convert the instrument into 330 million new shares of NBQ. Upon successful conversion, the new issue would imply 25% expansion of the existing paid in share capital, giving Global 20% shareholding in NBQ. Finalizing the issuance is subject to UAE regulatory authorities' approval.

The National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain (NBQ) was established in 1982 and since then it has been witnessing a consistent growth in assets and yearly profits. It is currently offering retail, corporate and institutional banking services and also operates an Islamic banking window. It has 16 branches and 30 ATM kiosks, serving more than 100,000 clients.

The Bank is listed on the Abu Dhabi bourse and is among the leaders, in terms of market capitalization, and is well positioned to gain from the economic growth in the UAE. It has an aggressive business plan to reinforce its presence in the UAE. The Government of Umm Al Qaiwain is the bank's major share holder since its inception besides other UAE major investors.

Global Investment House has conducted a successful $1.15bn GDR issue in May 2008. It will be using its new capital to conduct strategic investments for strengthening its distribution power and stabilizing annuity. Global also recently acquired a 19.0% stake in the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK). Besides, it also has strategic stake in several other banks in the MENA region. Global is currently operating across 16 countries through wholly owned subsidiaries and jointly controlled partnerships.

On this occasion, Sheikh Nasser bin Rashid Al Moalla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, stated,

"We welcome Global as our new investor, and we believe that Global, being one of the most active investment banking companies in the region, will add more value to the Bank in terms of asset management and corporate finance services."

"The new partnership with Global will raise the Bank's paid up capital to Dhs1.65bn and also will raise the owners equity to more than Dhs5.0bn. The new capital will assist the Bank to develop its business operations and enhance its growth rate with a more solid capital basis," he further added.

Mr. Omar El-Quqa, Executive Vice President at Global said, "This investment is a continuation of our interest to widen and strengthen our presence in the GCC banking and finance sector."

"Our association with NBQ, should help us in several ways," added El-Quqa.

He expects the association with NBQ to add to the distribution power of Global and also improve its credit rating. Such improved rating will offer Global flexibility for engineering its capital adequacy for future expansions and principal investments.