Kuwait, In its latest effort to play a proactive role in advancing the retail, corporate and investment banking sector across the region, Burgan Bank sponsored the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East 2025 event alongside market leaders, including S&P Global, Fitch, J.P. Morgan, and numerous others. Considered the largest of its kind in the Middle East, the two-day conference attracted more than 75 expert speakers and over 1,800 senior capital market professionals, from government officials to corporate executives, investors, bankers, legal consultants, regulators, and service providers, including 80% of all regional issuers in 2024/2025. Burgan Bank’s renewed sponsorship of this event confirms its steadfast commitment to advancing as a trusted financial partner with a growing portfolio of investment banking services tailored to the market’s varying needs and aligned with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. 

In this regard, Mr. Abdullah Abdulmajeed Marafie, General Manager – Treasury & Financial Institutions at Burgan Bank, underscored the importance of sponsoring events as vital as Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East, which aligns with the Bank’s strategic pillars of strengthening Kuwait’s business and re-allocating assets through growing and diversifying Burgan Bank’s corporate profile, fortifying its liquidity and risk profiles, as well as reinvesting and seeking growth opportunities in new markets. In addition, Burgan Bank’s continued success at financing local and international government and government-related entities, as well as banks and financial institutions, echoes its funding strategy aimed at developing a diversified funding base to achieve sustainable growth and, in turn, contributing to the “New Kuwait 2035” development plan with a core focus on sustainability and sustainable, ethical investment.

On his part, Mr. Mohamed Najeeb Al Zanki, General Manager – Corporate Banking at Burgan Bank, said: “Kuwait continues to grow as a destination for ambitious foreign investors seeking to expand their presence and be part of the momentous development that’s reshaping the region. Thanks to Burgan Bank’s expanding suite of corporate banking services and products, we are able to facilitate large-scale foreign investments that continue to drive positive change to our local infrastructure and most vital sectors.”

“At Burgan Bank, we recognize that success in corporate and investment banking is driven by strong connections across countries and markets. Events like Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East play a pivotal role in fostering these connections, providing a platform to deepen relationships and stay at the forefront of industry evolution. Through our sponsorship of such events, we gain timely insights into global and regional financial landscapes, which are essential to shaping a competitive advantage and central to our continued growth as a trusted partner for foreign institutions and corporate clients,” he added.

This year, the conference addressed several pressing topics, beginning with “MENA in 2025/26: Navigating Global Economic Shifts and Regional Challenges” and moving on to “The Issuer Perspective: Financing Strategies from the Region’s Leading Corporates”; “Unlocking Growth and Global Potential in Islamic Finance”; and “The evolution of loan syndications in the Middle East: Balancing pricing, sustainability, and competition”, among other market-defining conversations.

It's worth noting that Burgan Bank continues to focus on two key strategic goals within its overall business strategy: diversifying and growing its corporate portfolio whilst investing in expanding and leveraging its retail business. On the corporate front, the Bank has recently achieved several notable feats on the investment and financing fronts, including its acquisition of a 100% stake in United Gulf Bank B.S.C (UGB), a wholesale banking licensed in Bahrain with an ‘Islamic window’, in addition to signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korea Finance for Construction (KFINCO), making Burgan Bank the sole representative bank in Kuwait for the South Korean co-op institution. Earlier successes also include the Bank’s issuance of KD 150 million Perpetual Additional Tier 1 Capital Bonds, which were met with higher-than-anticipated demand, leading to oversubscription and confirming strong investor interest in the Bank's offerings.

About Burgan Bank

Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is a Kuwait-based conventional bank with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institution sectors. From its earliest days, the Bank has significantly sought to diversify its offering to cater to its growing retail and private banking customer base.

Burgan Bank has majority-owned subsidiaries, collectively known as the “Burgan Bank Group”, in the MENAT region. This Group is supported by one of the largest branch networks across the region and includes: Gulf Bank Algeria – AGB (Algeria), Tunis International Bank – TIB (Tunisia), and Burgan Bank Turkey. Furthermore, Burgan Bank has a presence in the UAE through its corporate office, Burgan Financial Services Limited.

The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years, through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region. Moreover, Burgan Bank’s brand has been built on a foundation of real values – trust, commitment, excellence, and progression – which serve as a reminder of the high standards to which the Bank always aspires. In fact, the Bank’s core philosophy of ‘Driven by You’ is the foundation on which its products and services are continuously developed.

Burgan Bank has achieved the LEED v4.1 O+M: EB Gold Certification for its Head Office in Kuwait City. The Bank has also obtained the ISO/IEC 27001: 2022 Information Security Management Systems certificate (ISMS), ISO /IEC 27701:2019 Privacy Information Management Systems (PIMS), ISO/IEC 20000-1: 2018 Information Technology  Service Management System (ITSMS) and was re-certified with the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS), making it one of the few banks in the GCC and Kuwait to receive such certification for five consecutive times. At the same time, the Bank has the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award for twenty consecutive years. Moreover, in a testament to its dedication to the development of its human capital, Burgan Bank is the first bank in Kuwait to be certified as a Great Place to Work®, earning the distinct honor in 2023.

Burgan Bank is a majority-owned subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), one of the largest holding companies in the MENA region.