Chaired by Chairman Abdulla Fahad Ghorab Al Marri, Qatar First Bank (QFB), Qatar’s first independent Shari’ah compliant bank regulated by Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, held its last board meeting for 2013 in Dubai, the second largest emirate in the UAE. Since its launch in 2009, QFB has scheduled board meetings every year in a different GCC country with the aim of reaching out to its diversified base of shareholders.
7% of QFB’s shareholder base is situated in the UAE and the UAE also houses four of QFB’s major investments in diverse sectors including healthcare, catering services, financial services, real estate and industrials. Last month QFB sponsored the Global Islamic Economy Summit held in Dubai to promote the emirate as the world capital of Islamic finance. Dubai, having recently won the bid to host Expo 2020, is a market that offers ample opportunities for investment.
The Board meeting included presentations by two leading global management consulting firms to advise on the development of the Bank’s business strategy as it moves to include commercial banking activities to its existing lines of business. The presentations examined market trends and best practices to enable QFB to capitalize on available opportunities across business lines.
Alongside the board meeting, Mr. Robert Booth, CEO of Dubai-based Emaar Properties, the leading international residential and commercial property developer, gave QFB’s Board Members and Senior Management an overview of the latest projects undertaken by the company and explored opportunities of how the two parties can collaborate in the future.