Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB) has acquired a 41 per cent equity stake in Qatar Engineering and Construction Company (QCon), a leading engineering firm specialising in executing engineering projects for the oil and gas industry.

The acquisition transaction was signed at a ceremony in Doha marking QFIB's debut transaction in this sector and in Qatar.

Qatar First Investment Bank, a newly established investment bank based in Doha stated that this acquisition represents its first step towards building a significant portfolio of investments in the oil and gas industry across the region, which will cover various businesses within the sector including production, transportation, conversion operations as well as services.

QFIB aims to provide its investor base with a diversified portfolio of investments in various key industries within the GCC and the Mena region.

QFIB's business strategy is focused on building a diversified portfolio of investments in five different key economic sectors, which include; oil & gas, financial services, industrial, health care and real estate.

'QFIB entered the market six months ago with an authorised capital of QR3.65 billion ($1billion) and a paid up capital of QR1.6 billion ($430million),' said Abdulla Al Marri, chairman of Qatar First Investment Bank.

'We have agreed and started implementing a sophisticated and diverse investment strategy, generating unique opportunities for our clientele,” he added.

“Our business plan is built on the basis of sound fundamental economic factors in the GCC and MENA region, supported by favourable demographics and strong economic growth driven by energy and commodity exports,” he added.

QFIB has an ambitious plan to become a prominent long term player in the energy sector by investing in existing assets and by playing a key role in M&A and capital raising activities within the sector. Growth in the energy, oil and gas sectors is set to continue leading to a greater demand in engineering services, which QCon is ideally positioned to capitalise on.

Qatar First Investment Bank is the first, fully independent, Shari'ah compliant investment bank to be authorised by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. – Reuters