National Bank of Kuwait expands in Egypt with the acquisition of Al Watany Bank of Egypt

- Dabdoub: A significant milestone in NBK's regional strategy reflecting the growing interest
  in the Egyptian banking sector.
- Al Sayer: Egypt is the largest Arab market with great growth and investment opportunities _______________________________________________________________________

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the largest bank in Kuwait and the highest-rated bank in the Middle East, announced today in an international press conference in Cairo the successful merger of Al Watany Bank of Egypt (AWB) with the NBK Group.

The conference was attended by Nasser Al Sayer, Vice Chairman of NBK Group, Ibrahim S. Dabdoub, CEO of NBK Group and Yasser Hassan, Managing Director of AWB.
 
Mr. Ibrahim Dabdoub, Chief Executive Officer of NBK Group, said that "this is a significant milestone in NBK's regional expansion strategy and also reflects NBK's increasing interest in the growing Egyptian banking sector. NBK believes that the Egyptian economy will continue its strong growth over the long term".

Egypt is the largest market in the Arab World with great growth and investment opportunities in all sectors and I am glad to see Egypt accelerating the pace of its privatization program. We, in the GCC, should seize this opportunity. It is also the time for Egypt to be closer to the Gulf, added Dabdoub.

Dabdoub said that AWB will maintain its name "Al Watany Bank of Egypt" in the local market while introducing a new logo and brand that highlights AWB as a new member of the NBK Group. We aim to double our branches within the next two years and introduce more advanced banking products in the market.

We expect AWB to further enhance the multi-faceted cooperation between Kuwait and Egypt and to encourage trade and investment flows between the two countries, stated Dabdoub who emphasized that over 400 Kuwaiti companies and organizations, most of them NBK clients, are currently involved in investment and business activities in Egypt, in addition to more than 400 thousand Egyptian expatriates living in Kuwait who need various financial and banking services, added Dabdoub.

AWB currently runs 26 branches located in different cities in Egypt and has assets amounting to L.E. (Egyptian Pounds) 12.4 billion and shareholders equity of L.E. 1.3 billion at end of 2007.

On another side, Dabdoub commended on the high level of professionalism and remarkable transparency and cooperation from the Central Bank of Egypt and the leading management of Al-Watany Bank.  He highlighted the significance of this deal for NBK's future in light of the magnitude of the Egyptian market and the deeply rooted and historical ties between the two countries.

Egypt is in the midst of a broad-based economic boom. Robust inflows allied to an improving business environment have galvanized investment in a range of sectors. Structural reform and rapid FDI inflows have energized the Egyptian economy, and based on strong domestic investment, real GDP growth should remain in a range of 6-7% over the next two years as per the International Institute of Finance estimates, said Dabdoub.

Commenting on NBK's strategy for regional expansion Dabdoub stated, "Recently we shifted plans to expand our presence in the region up a gear, and recently, this year we concluded several significant deals. The acquisition of Al Watany Bank of Egypt, the acquisition of a 40% stake in Turkish Bank, and the increase of our ownership stake in the International Bank of Qatar to 30% signal our determined commitment to regional expansion as a strategy to sustain the bank's growth in the future."

Today, NBK enjoys the largest presence in Kuwait with 67 branches, as well as a growing international representation in many of the world financial centers such as London, Paris, New York, and Singapore, as well as in China (Shanghai) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City). The new acquisitions in Egypt and Turkey follow on the heels of NBK's recent entry into Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq. Together with an established presence in Bahrain and Lebanon, these new markets position NBK as a leading regional player. The Bank also enjoys added coverage in the Kuwaiti, Turkish, and Dubai markets through its investment arm, NBK Capital.

During 2007, NBK's long-term credit rating was upgraded by Moody's to Aa2 from Aa3, and by S&P rating agency to A+ from A, a reflection of the Bank's strong financial position and long term positive outlook. This further consolidated the strong reputation NBK has enjoyed over the years, having been consistently awarded the highest credit rating of all banks in the region and emerging markets from Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch Ratings. The Bank's rating is supported by its high capitalization, prudent lending policies and its systematic approach to risk management, in addition to the recognized excellence of its very stable management. NBK's total assets reached USD 42.3 billion (KD 11.5 billion) at the end of 2007, while its shareholders' equity stood at USD 5.5 billion (KD 1.5 billion).