Al-Shamlan: Effective partnerships and growth opportunities lead the future of banking between the Gulf and Asia

Khalid Youssef Al-Shamlan, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Finance House (KFH), participated in a dialogue session titled “Core Banking and Balance Sheet Partnerships” at the Asia-Gulf Economic Forum, held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.

During his participation, Al-Shamlan emphasized that banking cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Asia has become a tangible reality, driven by successful partnerships, growing trade flows, increasing interconnection among capital markets, and rising demand for Sharia-compliant financing solutions.

Highlighting KFH’s experience as evidence of growing financial integration between the two regions, Al-Shamlan pointed out that the Group’s successful issuance of $1 billion in five-year sukuk in January 2026 serves as a clear example of the impact of banking cooperation between the Gulf and Asia. He noted that leading Asian financial institutions, including Bank of China and Mizuho, participated in the issuance as joint lead managers, alongside GCC financial institutions. The issuance attracted strong demand from investors in Asia and the Middle East, with oversubscription reaching more than double the offering size, reflecting growing investor interest in cross-border opportunities in Islamic capital markets.

Al-Shamlan stated, “The impact of the sukuk issuance extended beyond enabling KFH to diversify its funding sources; it also provided Asian institutions with broader access to international Islamic capital markets. This confirms that integration between Gulf and Asian capital markets is becoming firmly entrenched in practice.”

Strategic Expansion Boosts Growth

Speaking about the bank’s international expansion strategy, Al-Shamlan clarified that KFH’s expansion into external markets is based on the Board of Directors’ vision to position the Group among the top 100 banks globally and to build a more diversified and resilient financial entity. He noted that the strategic acquisition of Al Ahli United Bank in Bahrain, prior to its name change, significantly contributed to enhancing the Group’s presence in 10 countries, including Bahrain, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Egypt.

Al-Shamlan said, “This acquisition helped balance corporate and retail banking activities, diversify revenue sources outside the Gulf region, reduce concentration risks, and enhance earnings resilience.”

He added, “With KFH’s market capitalization reaching approximately $50 billion, the Group continues to deliver strong financial performance, recording the highest net profit in the Kuwaiti banking sector and among listed companies on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.”