The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has confirmed that the Egyptian market is one of the most important markets in which the group is present outside of Kuwait. Isam J. Al-Sager, chief executive officer and chairperson of the bank's operations in Egypt, said that the group's aspirations will open up broad prospects for the bank to be a true partner in the development and modernisation process undertaken by Egypt. This came during the ceremony held by the NBK on Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of its presence in Egypt, as it entered the Egyptian market in 2007 after taking over the National Bank of Egypt (NBE). He added that Kuwaiti investments were one of the first and largest Arab investments in Egypt, besides being the most effective, stable, and prosperous, pointing out that the volume of Kuwaiti investments in Egypt is estimated at between $6-7bn. "The presence of NBK in Egypt in 2007 was not a coincidence or a mere response to a request. It was based on a completely objective conviction of the importance of the Egyptian market and its size in achieving the strategic vision of the regional expansion of the group, which clearly saw that it is difficult to record sufficient regional success away from the Egyptian market, which is a key pillar and a vital starting point in the Middle East region," Al-Sager said. Moreover, Al-Sager, pointed out that despite all the challenges faced by NBK-Egypt, the bank has been able to record continuous success and achieve remarkable development, so that its profits currently contribute about one-third of the total profit of the group which is present in 15 countries outside Kuwait. He stressed that NBK Group has never given up its full commitment to NBK-Egypt and the Egyptian market, confirming its confidence in the market leadership and its ability to absorb developments and meet challenges. According to Yasser Hassan, chief executive officer and managing director of NBK-Egypt, the bank's successes in Egypt over the past 10 years were the result of the bank's work in Egypt in accordance with a clear strategy to enhance the bank's position in the Egyptian market and achieve its expansion vision through the implementation of an ambitious plan for the development and restructuring of the bank in full. Hassan stressed that the success of the bank in Egypt confirms the success of the group's vision in the Egyptian market, which aims to strengthen its position in it and to work to increase growth rates during the coming period.
