BEST BANK
Commercial International Bank
BEST INVESTMENT BANK
Citigroup
Commercial International Bank has maintained its position as the leading bank in Egypt. Although it is not the country’s biggest, it has continued to be the most profitable, producing twice as much income from a quarter of the assets that some of its rivals hold.
CIB is now the largest private sector bank in terms of profitability, market capitalization and loans, delivering record profits of almost E£506 million ($87.3 million).
In the past year CIB has also taken significant steps in its strategy for long-term regional growth. It has opened its first offshore office in Dubai, while it is also now listed on both the Abu Dhabi and Kuwait stock exchanges.
The bank is launching a division focusing directly on small and medium-size enterprises and has also established departments offering new corporate banking and trade finance services.
Citigroup has proved itself the outstanding investment bank in Egypt during the past year through its involvement in many of the most important transactions in the country.
The bank was the sole financial adviser for Orascom Construction Industries’ acquisition of a controlling stake in Chakwal cement plant in Pakistan. This was the first time a foreign cement company had entered the Pakistani market.
Citigroup was also the global coordinator, lead arranger, escrow agent and bookrunner for the local currency bond for Telecom Egypt, the state-owned fixed-line operator. This E£3.8 billion transaction was the largest ever corporate bond in Egypt and the first local currency corporate issue to attract the interest of foreign investors, while the refinancing package was tightly priced, saving the borrower a considerable amount in costs.
The bank also acted as global coordinator, lead arranger and underwriter for the $65 million local currency issue for Orascom Construction, which made a big contribution to the revival of the country’s domestic bond market.
The bond was structured with a cashflow matching the repayment profile. This allowed breathing space for the issuer to face intense market competition.
