H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of QNB Group, who is also the Minister of Finance, being led by Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa (right), Acting Group CEO of QNB, to preside over the QNB Group’s Ordinary and Extraordinary General As
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of QNB Group, H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi said yesterday that QNB will continue to expand its operations in the existing markets, and also invest in new markets to achieve its long term strategy ‘Thinking Beyond’.
The banking and financial giant, as part of its action plan for 2019, is also working to enhance its leading position in the banking sector at the local and international levels.
Addressing shareholders of the QNB Group AGM, the chairman said that the QNB is diversifying its income sources and expanding the range of activities within the Group and its subsidiaries and associate companies. And these are the key elements towards achieving the Group’s vision to become a leading bank in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia (MEASEA) by 2020.
“We see good governance as vital to our prosperity and reputation, especially as we continue to expand into new jurisdictions,” said H E Al Emadi, who is also the Minister of Finance.
Commenting on QNB’s resilience to the difficult global economic conditions, Al Emadi added: “Globally the macroeconomic growth has been broadly supportive for QNB Group. Some of our network countries, however, have been exposed to headwinds, making the environment challenging for the Group. Despite these headwinds, QNB maintained its strong growth momentum in 2018.”
QNB Group delivered record financial results for the last financial year ended December 31, 2018, with net profit reaching QR13.8bn, up by 5 percent compared to same period previous year. Total assets increased by 6 percent to reach QR862bn.
Al Emadi presided over the QNB Group’s Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly meetings, which approved all the items on the agenda, including the proposal by the Board of Directors to distribute a cash dividend of 60 percent of the nominal share value (representing QR6 per share).
The General Assembly also approved the appointment of KPMG as External Auditors for the year 2019.
The shareholders also approved the split of the par value of the ordinary share to be QR1 instead of QR10, as per the instructions of the Qatar Financial Markets (QFMA) and approved the amendment of related provisions in the Bank’s Articles of Association.
The Chairman noted that QNB Group was able to deliver outstanding financial results during 2018 in all its local and international operations while continuing to pursue a wise policy and effective risk management. He also emphasised the Group’s keenness to put in place a sustainable value for customers and shareholders.
The Ordinary General Assembly also elected five new Board Members representing the private sector. The new board members are Bader Abdullah Darwish Fakhroo; Fahad Mohammed Fahad Buzwair; Ali Hussain Ali Al Sada; Broog Trading Company is to be represented by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud bin Fahad Al Thani; Hassan bin Hassan Al Mulla Co & Sons to be represented by Adel Hassan bin Hassan Al Mulla Al Jufairi.
