Mubasher: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has revealed plans to issue bonds of around $500 million to $750 million to support its capital, Al Rai newspaper reported, on Monday, citing its CEO Michel Accad as saying.

Since 2015, ABK has acquired financial momentum, which enhanced its budget, to top other national banks with the highest allocations, the top official said in an interview with Al Rai.

He added that this reflects the bank’s financial ability allowing it to hedge against irregular debts.

ABK has a market share ranging between 10% and 12%, depending on the sector, Accad said, indicating that the bank’s available liquidity level for lending, both in Kuwait and Egypt, “is sufficient”, according to the interview.

Accad confirmed that the bank does not intend to increase its capital currently, noting that the ABK plans for issuing bonds in dollars from the first tranche to increase the capital adequacy rate.

Commenting on the first tranche of bonds issued in June, the top official revealed that a large portion of the proceeds have been allocated to the bank’s operations, enabling it to increase its financing resources.

ABK had approved a euro-denominated medium term note (EMTN) worth $1.5 billion.

As for the merger between Ahli United Bank – Kuwait (AUB) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH), Accad said that the merger was a positive step, indicating that local Kuwaiti market needed more mergers that may make a difference in the sector.

Despite the successful merger in Egypt, ABK’s top official said that the bank was not considering any mergers or acquisitions at present.

ABK last reported a 23.8% rise in profits to KWD 5.88 million ($19.5 million) in the third quarter of 2017, up from KWD 4.75 million ($15.8 million) in the year-ago period.