Kuwait - Mubasher: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is planning to expand in China and Egypt as the region’s banking sector nears saturation, The National reported, citing CEO Mazin Al Nahedh as saying.
KFH, the GCC’s tenth-largest lender, is planning to open a branch in China, the top official told the newspaper on Wednesday, noting that the bank was also considering applying for a licence to operate in Egypt.
“There are opportunities for a Kuwaiti bank to operate in China,” Al Nahedh said, highlighting that China is among the countries KFH is eyeing in terms of investments because of its “importance to the world economy.”
“We’re reaching saturation, particularly in the GCC banking system,” the CEO noted.
In Egypt, KFH, which has assets of about $57 billion, is looking at options to buy an existing licence to operate there, he said.
Banks in the region, particularly the GCC, are suffering from poor conditions on the back of the extended decline of oil prices, which have resulted in lower government spending and slower economic growth, KFH’s CEO noted, adding that market saturation is not the only cause for lenders to eye opportunities abroad.
In Kuwait, the rise of Islamic banking is suffering a slowdown as the market “reaches equilibrium,” Al Nahedh told the newspaper, noting that KFH is “cautiously optimistic” about its operations in Turkey.
KFH’s Turkish subsidiary Kuveyt Turk contributed around 22% to the group’s bottom line for the period ended June 2017, the top official noted, indicating that the Kuwaiti lender expects credit growth ranging between 20% and 25% over the next three to four years as long as base rates remain unchanged.
In addition to working on a restructuring scheme and sale of its non-core assets, KFH is mulling offers for its stake in Aref Investment Group, the CEO said, noting that the stake sale is expected to take place by the end of 2017.
