Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank increases stake in its Egyptian unit to more than 52%

The UAE bank bought 9.6 million shares from National Investment Bank

ADIB’s Heliopolis branch in Egypt. Dana Smillie / The National

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), the emirate’s biggest sharia-compliant lender, has bought additional shares in its Egyptian subsidiary to boost its stake in the lender to more than 52 per cent.

The UAE bank purchased 9.6 million shares from National Investment Bank, representing 2.4 per cent of ADIB Egypt's share capital, ADIB said in a statement on Thursday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

Following the transaction, the UAE lender’s ownership in its Egyptian unit has "increased to 52.607 per cent", it said, without providing further details.

With more than Dh147 billion ($40 billion) in assets at the end of September, ADIB is also active in Saudi Arabia, the UK, Sudan and Iraq.

The lender provides retail, corporate, business, private banking and wealth management services to more than a million customers.

In the third quarter of last year, ADIB reported its highest quarterly net profit of more than Dh1 billion as impairments dropped and operating income rose.

For the nine-month period, the bank registered 53 per cent growth in its net profit to more than Dh2.4 billion from Dh1.6 billion in the corresponding period in 2021.

“Looking ahead and while the global economic outlook remains uncertain marked by inflationary pressures, we are confident that our strong balance sheet, capital levels and liquidity combined with our innovative and agile spirit will position us well to capture new opportunities,” Nasser Al Awadhi, group chief executive of ADIB, said in October.

“We will continue to identify new growth areas and invest our resources to deliver sustainable shareholder returns and pursue our growth and transformation plans.”