Al-Nahedh: Growth in KFH-Turkey’s Contributions in Bilateral Relationships between GCC and Turkey

Post Date : 01/05/2016

Al-Nahedh: Growth in KFH-Turkey's Contributions in Bilateral Relationships between GCC and Turkey
At Turkish Arab Economic Forum in Istanbul

KFH-Turkey Seeks to be one of the top 10 banks in Turkey

Group CEO at Kuwait Finance House KFH Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh said that (KFH-Turkey) is the biggest participation bank with % 35 shares in assets, %37.5 shares in credits and %37.9 in deposits in Turkish participation banking sector. It has a pioneer role in participation banking supporting real sector of Turkish economy.

He added during his participation in the 11 edition of the Turkish Arab Economic Forum (TAF) 2016 convened in Istanbul that KFH-Turkey's current credits reached nearly to 9 billion USD, indicating that the bank has currently reached 365 branches and is employing over 5400 workers.

He illustrated that another important aspect of (KFH-Turkey) is that, it is the only bank in Turkey which has certified Research and Development Center with 300 engineers and is changing the banking sector with its recent innovative projects and products.

He said that individual investors are able to invest in Turkey through KT Portfoy, which is a subsidiary of (KFH-Turkey). KT Portfoy Asset Management Company manages hedge funds established based on private sector and sovereign sukuk, stock shares, gold etc. Real estate funds and individual investment advisory are other fields of service of the company.

'When we look at the contributions of KFH-Turkey to the bilateral relationships between Gulf Countries and Turkey, we see that KFH-Turkey has increased the trade transactions; i.e. Imports & Exports by meeting the financial needs of businesses through its offshore branch in the Kingdom of Bahrain, its subsidiary in the Emirate of Dubai and its mother company KFH in Kuwait. Additionally Gulf funds have brought to Turkey by KFH-Turkey, where both Gulf investors and businesses in Turkey benefit.' Al-Nahedh added.

He indicated that in the long-run the Bank seeks to be one of the top 10 banks in profitability and service quality in Turkey. On the other hand, the Bank seeks new opportunities to enlarge its international network at different locations. In this respect, the Bank established a 100% subsidiary in Germany, KT Bank AG, which started operations from 1st July 2015. KT Bank AG features being the first bank on mainland Europa that offers Sharia compliant Banking services.

He said that being the first participation bank that issued sukuk in Turkey, KFH-Turkey is planning to continue its services further in the sector. In 2015 KFH-Turkey issued approximately 2.2 billion TL worth of Sukuk. 800 million ringgit sukuk was issued in Malaysia. Participation banking has been growing faster than the conventional sector in the last couple of decades.

It is worth noting that the forum attracted huge dignitaries and high profile institutions participations including ministers, a line-up of high profile speakers and businessmen. They discussed major issues and topics of high relevance to a growing Turkish-Arab economic partnership including Deepening Reforms and Re-launching the Economy, Investing for Growth, The Potential for Private Equity, Turkish-Arab Economic Partnership, and Strengthening Banking and Capital Markets Links.