Doha Bank, the Qatari lender which issued a $500 million bond in March, plans to raise its capital by 50 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to meet strategic business requirements, it said on Wednesday.

Doha Bank's board of directors approved plans for a capital hike at a meeting on September 18, and will now seek approval from shareholders at an extraordinary general assembly, the bourse statement said.

No details of how the bank plans to raise capital or the size and date of issue were provided in the statement, which said these would be disclosed after the necessary studies and approvals were in place.

Doha Bank, has a market capitalisation of about $3.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data and is Qatar's fifth largest lender.

Qatar banks are expected to benefit from the gas-rich country's breakneck expansion plans and many have already tapped capital markets this year.

Lenders in the Gulf Arab state need to depend less on deposits and issue more debt and Islamic bonds to raise capital if they are to continue fuelling the country's growth, a senior Standard & Poor's executive said in July. – Reuters