Doha Bank may raise $1.4b in equity for expansion

Doha Bank may raise as much as 5.1 billion riyals ($1.4 billion) from selling shares as it seeks to boost lending and expand in foreign markets. Doha Bank will raise the money in the first quarter of 2013 and needs shareholder approval for the 50 per cent capital increase, the lender said. Details of the plan will be announced later, the bank said on Wednesday in a statement to the Qatari bourse. The capital increase will help the bank participate in the country’s “major infrastructure” projects and expand overseas, including opening a branch in Abu Dhabi in the next two months, Chief Executive Officer Raghavan Seetharaman told reporters in Doha. The increase will also help the bank meet capital requirements under Basel III rules, he said. Bank lending in the Gulf country, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, surged 38 per cent in the 12 months through July as banks helped fund $130 billion of planned spending on building projects ahead of the 2022 soccer World Cup. Qatari banks are also expanding overseas to beat limited growth in a country of 1.7 million people. Doha Bank shares rose 0.7 per cent to 56.4 riyals at 11:23am. in Doha, valuing the bank at 11.7 billion riyals. Doha Bank may raise 5.81 billion riyals if it raises half its current market value at no discount and 4.1 billion riyals if it sells shares at a 30 per cent discount, according to Jaap Meijer, a director for equity research at Dubai-based Arqaam Capital Ltd., who has a hold rating on the stock. The fundraising will boost Doha Bank’s core tier-1 equity to 19.2 per cent at the end of 2013 at the current market price from 9.6 per cent now, he said. From gulftoday