Emirates NBD shares up on report of HSBC Turkey interest

The share price of Emirates NBD, the largest Dubai-based bank by assets, rose on Wednesday following a report that the lender is looking to buy HSBC’s Turkish business.

Discussions are at an early stage, Bloomberg reported, quoting unidentified sources.

Emirates NBD shares rose 1.2 percent to AED29.90 in early trading on the Dubai Financial Market. The stock is up nearly 6 percent so far this year.

Emirates NBD and HSBC spokespeople declined to comment, Bloomberg said.

The Dubai bank agreed in 2018 to buy Turkish lender DenizBank from Russia’s Sberbank, completing the deal in July 2019. Emirates NBD holds 99.85 percent of DenizBank.

Last month Emirates NBD increased its stake in RBL Bank, an Indian private lender, to 60 percent for an investment of $2.8 billion.

Emirates NBD is 56 percent owned by the Dubai government-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai and Dubai Holding.

The bank has operations in the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK, Austria, Germany and Bahrain and has 826 branches.

Further reading:

• Emirates NBD shares gain after upping RBL Bank holding to 60%
• Gulf banks hold full-year guidance despite war risks
• Emirates NBD profit rises to $1.7bn on higher lending