(MENAFN- Gulf Times) QIIB shareholders have approved a bank proposal to raise up to QR3bn through a sukuk issuance, which will be used to support the bank's capital requirements for future growth and expansion.
The shareholders also approved QIIB board of directors' proposal to the bank's general assembly to distribute a cash dividend of 40% of its capital, which translates into QR4 a share.
QIIB chief executive officer Abdulbasit A al-Shaibei said although the bank has taken approval for a sukuk issuance up to QR3bn, it will go "only in stages".
"We may start with only QR1bn; and depending on our requirements we will go further," al-Shaibei said.
He said QIIB would continue to expand in Qatar. "Today, we are opening a new branch in Muaither. Next week, we will open a corporate branch at the Grand Hamad Street. We are working on the opening of several more branches this year," al-Shaibei said.
Muaither will be the 17th in QIIB's Qatar network. Al-Shaibei said despite the oil price drop, the Qatari economy looked "very promising".
"I am optimistic about the Qatari economy. The government is committed to all major projects that will transform our economy," he said.
He said QIIB would continue to design and introduce a range of products and services targeting different customer segments.
Al-Shaibei also stressed QIIB's commitment to harness IT in a big way to upgrade banking services and products besides increasing the level of Qatarisation in the bank.
"We attach top priority to recruiting, training and placing Qataris in our bank," the QIIB CEO said.
Presiding over the bank's general assembly meeting at the Ezdan Tower, West Bay, QIIB chairman and managing director Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani said QIIB believed it was the bank's responsibility to fully engage in nation-building and support the national economy.
Sheikh Dr Khalid emphasised QIIB's commitment to various kinds of project financing; be it large projects related to infrastructure, other major development plans or small and medium enterprises.
He said the national economy was seeing a renaissance and became prosperous under the wise leadership of HH the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Sheikh Dr Khalid said, "Our 2014 results strongly confirm the bank has made good growth across all portfolios of its business and succeeded in realising its strategy, which is commensurate with the rich opportunities available in the Qatari economy."
Registering growth across all portfolios of its business, QIIB posted a net profit of QR826mn in 2014, up 10.1% on the previous year. The bank's total revenues stood at QR1.52bn in 2014. Earnings per share (EPS) reached QR5.45 in 2014.
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