Acquisitive Gulf Arab lender Qatar National Bank (QNB) posted 24-per cent higher second-quarter net profit on Wednesday that beat analysts' estimates by 7 percent and said it was opening an office in China.

 

QNB, which completed the purchase of a majority stake in Societe Generale's Egyptian arm NSGB for $2 billion in March, posted a net profit of 2.6 billion riyals ($714 million) for the three months to June 30 including NSGB.

 

First-half net profit was 4.7 billion riyals ($1.3 billion), up 15.1 percent year-on-year, it said.

 

Total assets rose 30.4 percent from June 2012 to 431 billion riyals, the highest ever achieved by the bank, its statement said, as result of a strong growth rate in loans and advances.

 

Loans and advances rose 26.3 percent to 296 billion riyals, and the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans was 1.5 percent.

 

Half-owned by sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority, and with a market value of about $26 billion, the bank said it had all the necessary regulatory approvals to open a representative office in China and to establish a fully owned subsidiary in India. QNB (India) Private Limited is expected to commence its operations during the third quarter of this year.

 

Its acquisitions have been focused so far on the Middle East and North Africa, and it said last December it was looking at a majority stake in a top 10 Turkish bank.

 

With bank stakes in Indonesia, Jordan and Tunisia, QNB wants its international business to contribute about 40 percent of profit and 45 percent of total assets by 2017, chief financial officer Ramzi Mari said in December, up from about 17 percent and 30 percent before the NSGB deal.

 

On Tuesday, the bank appointed Ali Al-Kuwari as acting chief executive after a government reshuffle saw his predecessor, Ali Al-Emadi, named as finance minister. Kuwari previously led the bank's corporate, retail and international banking businesses.

 

Al-Emadi was made chairman of QNB's board this week.  - Reuters