QNB Group CEO Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa discusses innovation and sustainability with Global Finance.
Global Finance: QNB Group had solid returns in 2023. How did the organization achieve this?
Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa: In 2023, QNB Group delivered robust net profit of $4.3 billion, an increase of 8% over the previous year, and an operating income of $10.7 billion, an increase of 11%. As a result, QNB remains the largest bank in Middle East and Africa [MEA] and one of the world’s top 50 banks in terms of market capitalization, reaching $41.9 billion. It is QNB’s vision and strategy to be one of the leading banks in MEA. Our strategy is comprised of three elements: a focus on our core of being an international wholesale bank, while leveraging innovation as a strategic enabler and embedding sustainability into our business and operating model.
GF: How does QNB differentiate itself from its competitors?
Al-Khalifa: To successfully compete against our competitors, we rely on a winning value proposition of our strong ratings, relationships and brand value as well as our international network. S&P [A+], Moody’s [Aa3] and Fitch [A+] recognize us as one of the highest-rated banks in MEA. We have built strong relationships with the government and private-sector companies across our network, including our subsidiaries in Turkey and Egypt. We continue to grow our brand value, which currently stands at $8.4 billion, and have maintained our status as MEA’s most valuable banking brand. Finally, with a network that spans across 28 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, we are one of the few banks with a strong rating that can operate as a full-service financial institution across a range of hard-to-access frontier and emerging markets.
GF: What are the latest milestones QNB has reached on its digital transformation journey?
Al-Khalifa: As part of our strategy, we are embedding the topic of digital transformation into our business and operating model. Our value proposition is supported by cutting-edge digital technology and innovation delivered with a human touch to maintain the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Our QNB digital 3.0 program focuses on investing in our IT capabilities to enable digitization through the adoption of new technologies within our IT architecture and infrastructure. Digitization helps to drive efficiency and automation through robotics, AI, machine learning and an ongoing streamlining of our processes. Last but not least, we are striving to leverage the latest technology to optimize our channels and network to adjust to new customer expectations and behaviors.
GF: Sustainability is one of the most important topics across industries. How does QNB support it?
Al-Khalifa: Banks play an important role in contributing to financial stability and economic growth. As the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, we recognize the importance of ESG and have consequently embedded the topic of sustainability in our purpose and strategy. Sustainability is the delivery of long-term value in terms of financial, environmental, social and governance. QNB’s purpose is to promote prosperity and sustainable growth across the markets we serve. Our strategy therefore fully integrates the E, S and G across our business and operating model.
GF: Where do you expect growth regarding business lines, sectors or geographies in the coming year?Al-Khalifa: Domestically, in Corporate Banking, the multibillion-dollar North Field Expansion project is a major opportunity for us to continue to support Qatar’s development in the coming years. We are actively supporting initiatives across the value chain, ranging from wells, pipelines, LNG storage tanks and new LNG tankers, all the way through to the expansion of Qatar’s refining and downstream capacity. Internationally, one of the key markets that presents a big growth potential for us is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We developed a dedicated strategy for our presence in the country and also opened a second branch in Jeddah. Furthermore, we see significant growth potential in our international branches in London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong. These financial centers allow us to capture market share for trade and investment flows with global and multinational corporate customers to fuel our growth.
