Ekonomist Magazine publishes an interview with Commercial Bank’s Managing Director and Alternatif Bank Chairman, Omar Hussein Alfardan

​Doha, Qatar: Commercial Bank announced the details of the interesting interview regarding strategic relations with Turkey and the bank’s acquisition of Alternatif Bank, the largest investment undertaken by the Qatari private sector to date. Omar Hussein Alfardan, Commercial Bank Managing Director and Alternatif Bank Chairman, participated in the interview held and published by the leading Turkish magazine, The Ekonomist, on 8 September 2019.

 

The interview shed light mainly on the strategic relations with Turkey and the bank’s acquisition of Alternatif Bank. Reasons behind Commercial Bank’s decision to acquire a bank in the Turkish market were answered openly clarifying that Alternatif Bank is considered to be the largest investment made by the Qatari private sector to date.

 

Omar Hussein Alfardan expressed his certainty that Commercial Bank’s investment in Alternatif Bank will continue to grow and add value to the economies of both countries; simply because Turkey is closely known and embraced by the Qatari people since the recent developments have also brought the two countries closer.

 

He commented on the current situation of Qatari investments in Turkey saying, “Qatar’s investments in Turkey are on the increase, especially in strategic sectors such as finance, retail, energy, agriculture and construction. Qatar has directly invested about USD 23 billion to date in Turkey and is ranked the 19th country in direct investments”.

 

“These investments are predominantly in the banking industry and we see that these investments are mostly in the form of share acquisitions. In this respect, we witness the fact that the Qatari companies see a great investment potential in Turkey and invest in various industries, including banking, as part of their medium to long term plans”, he added. 

 

The strength of the strategic relations with Turkey was emphasized during the interview by pointing out that Commercial Bank holds a key position as an investor that believes in the long-term potential and power of the Turkish economy, and supports the development of ever-increasing business relations between Turkey and Qatar. It is one of the bank’s highest priorities to provide financial and trade support for the increasingly strong strategic collaboration between these two allied and friendly nations, which have stood side by side in challenging times and Turkey lies at the center of our international strategy.