Mubasher: Ahli Bank is looking to issue bonds worth $500 million in the second quarter of 2019, as part of the $2 billion programme, the Qatari lender’s acting CEO said.

The Qatari bank has already completed two tranches of bonds each valued at $500 million, Mahmoud Milkawy told Lusail News.

Plans to issue a new tranche in 2018 were postponed as there was no need for more liquidity last year, Milkawy added.

The current borrowing cost has been reduced from last year, he noted, affirming that delaying the bond issue was a right decision, especially after the improvement of Qatar's sovereign credit rating and the local banks’ credit ratings as well.

In addition, Milkawy denied plans to merge with banks or financial institutions in the current period.

For the full-year 2018, Ahli Bank reported a 4% profit increase, logging QAR 665.56 million, against QAR 639.71 million in the previous year.

By 09:30 Qatar time, Ahli Bank’s stock rose 9.85% to QAR 29.00.