ArabianBusiness.com - Middle East Business News
Saturday, 11 October 2008 | 06:43 UAE time

YOUR DIRECTORY /

Print this page Print this page | Email this to a friend Email this to a friend | Discuss this article (0 Comments) |

Noor Financial eyes bid for Banque du Caire

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  on Monday, 03 March 2008

Kuwait's Noor Financial Investment Company said on Sunday it was in talks with potential banking partners about bidding for Egypt's Banque du Caire, which the Egyptian government is looking to sell.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK), which last year lost out to rival National Bank of Kuwait in a bid to buy Al Watany Bank of Egypt, also expressed an interest in Egypt's third-largest state bank.

"Egypt is one of the best emerging markets," Noor Managing Director Naser Al-Marri told newswire Reuters by telephone. "Potential growth is there, political stability is there and demand is there... services are still behind in the banking sector."

Story continues below
advertisement

Noor, the financial arm of National Industries Group, is looking to own as much as 29% of Banque du Caire, Al-Marri said, declining to identify possible partners.

The Egyptian government plans to sell as much as 67% of Banque du Caire by the end of April.

Noor and Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group are among 12 banks submitting initial offers for the stake, Egyptian daily Al Alam Al Youm reported on Sunday.

"We will go maybe in an alliance with others into acquiring it, if there is a chance," CBK Chairman Abdul-Majeed Al-Shatti told Reuters, following the bank's general assembly meeting. Al-Shatti declined to give more details.

Mashreq, Dubai's third-largest lender by market value, said in September it may bid for Banque du Caire, which Egypt is looking to sell for as much as $1.6 billion.

A group led by Mashreq last year made an unsuccessful bid for Egypt's state-owned Bank of Alexandria. Mashreqbank Chief Executive Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair said a year ago the lender was considering other targets in the North African country.

Ali Raza Khan, head of corporate affairs at Mashreq declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement when Reuters contacted him in Dubai on Sunday.

Print Print | Email Email | Discuss this article |



USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment
All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *
(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code * Code


Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

more ยป MIDDLE EAST MARKETS DATA

CBK.KSE

Last Price:

1.22

+0.02+1.67%

8 Oct 2008 09:26 GMT
(Market Closed)

CURRENCY CONVERTOR

RELATED LINKS

  1. Al Watany Bank»
  2. Banque du Caire»
  3. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK)»
  4. Mashreq»
  5. Samba Financial Group»

 EMAIL ALERTS

  1. Al Watany Bank

  2. Banque du Caire

  3. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK)

  4. Mashreq

  5. Noor Financial Investment Company

  6. Samba Financial Group

  7. Banking & Finance



BUSINESS FEATURES

Race to the bottom

The London-New York fight to be the world's pre-eminent financial centre is now a race to the bottom.

Kuwait's bull run turns bearish

Kuwait rode the emerging market wave for most of this year but now the mood is changing. Soren Billing reports.

Hedge fund revolt

London is turning its back on the $450bn industry that helped make the city a world financial leader.

ArabianBusiness.com/Jobs - Middle East Jobs Search
  1. Financial Reporting Analyst
    Industry: Finance
    Location: Qatar, Qatar
  2. Account Manager
    Industry: Finance
    Location: Dubai, UAE
Browse all jobs »

BUSINESS INTERVIEWS

Why there's life after Lehman

As global markets go into freefall, where will sovereign funds be looking next? Makram Azar explains.

The iron lady

Global Investment's Maha Al Ghunaim on the Gulf's ability to come through the global financial crisis intact.

Comeback kids

Arabian Business talks to Unicorn's CFO to discover why Islamic finance is now in higher demand than ever.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM