ABU DHABI, 6 September 2007 — First Gulf Bank, the UAE’s sixth-largest bank and third biggest in Abu Dhabi by market value, headquartered in Abu Dhabi with assets of over AED 56 billion, has signed an MOU with the Economic& Social Development Fund (ESDF) Libya to establish Gulf-Libyan Bank, a fully fledged commercial bank in Tripoli.
The new bank will be owned equally by the two organizations with 50 percent shares for each.
The authorized capital is $400 million and the paid up capital is $200 million, to be paid equally by the two parties. The new bank will be fully managed by FGB, it said in a statement.
The MOU signing ceremony was attended by Abdulhamid Saeed, managing director of FGB and Hamed Arabi El-Houderi, general manager, ESDF Libya. “The Libyan economy is diversifying, the economic outlook is favorable and FGB wants to capitalize on this opportunity,” Saeed said.
“With this MOU, the two organizations have committed to work together to operate a commercial bank which brings banking expertise, new products, risk management tools, culture and state of the art technology and contributes to the economic growth of Libya,” Saeed added.
Growth is expected to exceed 6.5 percent over the next 5 years thanks to the Libyan economic reform policies including the liberalization of banking regulations, modernization of payment systems and the creation of a credit bureau. This will open the way for the formation of more partnerships in Libya.
“We are pleased to sign this MoU with a reputable organization such as FGB,” El-Houderi said.
