Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest bank, plans to complete its acquisition of French lender BNP Paribas' Egyptian operations by mid-May, its chief executive said on Thursday.

"The completion should be finalised in mid-May," Rick Pudner said in a conference call to discuss the Dubai bank's quarterly earnings.

In December, ENBD announced it had agreed to buy the Egyptian business of BNP Paribas for $500 million in a first step towards diversifying beyond its Dubai base.

ENBD reported a 31 percent increase in first-quarter profit earlier on Thursday. – Reuters