DUBAI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Commercial Bank of Qatar
COMB.QA
(CBQ) will ask shareholders on Nov. 16 to approve a 1.5 billion riyals ($412 million) rights issue, the Gulf state's third-largest lender by assets said in a on Tuesday.
The lender, which had announced on Sunday that it would seek approval for a capital increase of up to 17 percent, said in Tuesday's bourse filing that it intends to offer 58.8 million new shares at 25.5 riyals each.
That would equate to increasing total share capital to 3.85 billion riyals, representing an 18 percent capital hike, Reuters calculations show.
The bank said that shareholders would be allowed to buy one new share for every 5.5 held but gave no indication when it hopes to launch the proposed issue.
CBQ shares were up 2.1 percent at 36.45 riyals by Tuesday's close.
Rights issues in the Gulf are usually offered at steep discounts to the market price to encourage subscription from the market's large proportion of retail investors.
The proposed CBQ issue is the second time this year that the bank has sought to raise its capital reserves, having sold a 2 billion riyal bond in March.
A number of Gulf banks have announced similar moves in recent months as economic growth slows and they look to prepare for looming global regulations requiring banks to beef up their reserves.
CBQ had a total capital adequacy ratio of 15.6 percent at June 30, according to a presentation on the bank's website, against a minimum regulatory requirement of 12.5 percent. ($1 = 3.6407 Qatar riyals) (Reporting by David French; Editing by David Goodman) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
The lender, which had announced on Sunday that it would seek approval for a capital increase of up to 17 percent, said in Tuesday's bourse filing that it intends to offer 58.8 million new shares at 25.5 riyals each.
That would equate to increasing total share capital to 3.85 billion riyals, representing an 18 percent capital hike, Reuters calculations show.
The bank said that shareholders would be allowed to buy one new share for every 5.5 held but gave no indication when it hopes to launch the proposed issue.
CBQ shares were up 2.1 percent at 36.45 riyals by Tuesday's close.
Rights issues in the Gulf are usually offered at steep discounts to the market price to encourage subscription from the market's large proportion of retail investors.
The proposed CBQ issue is the second time this year that the bank has sought to raise its capital reserves, having sold a 2 billion riyal bond in March.
A number of Gulf banks have announced similar moves in recent months as economic growth slows and they look to prepare for looming global regulations requiring banks to beef up their reserves.
CBQ had a total capital adequacy ratio of 15.6 percent at June 30, according to a presentation on the bank's website, against a minimum regulatory requirement of 12.5 percent. ($1 = 3.6407 Qatar riyals) (Reporting by David French; Editing by David Goodman) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
