Doha Bank of Qatar to Sell Shares to QIA for $404 Million

By Shaji Mathew

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Doha Bank QSC plans to raise 1.47 billion riyals ($404 million) by selling new shares to the Qatar Investment Authority as the country's third-biggest bank by assets seeks to raise its capital by 20 percent.

Doha Bank will offer 34.4 million shares to the Gulf emirate's $60 billion sovereign wealth fund at the closing price on Oct. 12 of 42.8 riyals, the bank said today in a statement on the Doha bourse Web site.

The Qatar Investment Authority, or QIA, said last month it would contribute between 10 percent and 20 percent of Qatari banks' capital to guarantee financing for development projects in the country, seeking to protect Qatar from the global credit crisis.

Doha Bank will issue shares to QIA in two phases and will call a shareholders' meeting on Dec. 24 to approve the plan, according to the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shaji Mathew in Dubai at shajimathew@bloomberg.net