Burgan invested in growing Turkish market

In a special interview with DAILY SABAH, Majed al-Ajeel, the CEO of Burgan Bank, which offers services in many countries including 60 branches in Turkey, gave explanations about the bank and their investment in Turkey and invites Turkish investors to Kuwait.

Daily Sabah: In which countries does Burgan Group operate and how is your structure abroad?

Majed Essa al-Ajeel: Burgan Banking Group is in conventional banking. Our head office is in Kuwait and we have banks in Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. These are stand-alone or separate banks. We own the majority and control majority of these banks, like in Turkey it is almost 100 percent. But these are stand-alone banks in each country. Apart from these countries, some of these banks are represented in other places. So altogether we are in nine countries. We are in Palestine as well and Kuwait-Jordan Bank has branches in Palestine and has another branch in Cyprus. So we are in nine countries. Altogether we have 230 branches in Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq in total.

DS: How many branches do you have in Turkey, and what are your activities here?

MA: In Turkey we have about 60 branches, 30 in Istanbul, six in Ankara and the rest in other places. Our bank in Turkey does retail business for individual customers and in corporate business for companies and corporations. Also, the bank has a leasing subsidiary and a company for buying stocks in the capital market. This is Burgan Group's overall network, so we have five different banks. We are in nine countries. We have 230 branches. In Kuwait we have less than 1,000 employees, in Turkey we have 1,000 employees and in total we employ about 4,000 people. One-thousand employees means 1,000 families. This is very important for the relation between Kuwait and Turkey. Kuwaiti banks and companies are investing in Turkey and these are examples of good relations. There are other Kuwaiti banks and companies that are investing in the real estate sector. Some other companies are moving into the agriculture sector and investing in agricultural land. Burgan Bank has 100 percent Kuwaiti capital.

DS: What does Turkey mean to your bank?

MA: Our entering capital to Turkey is $350 million. The Turkish market is very important for us and that is why we bought this bank two years ago. Turkey is a very big market, has a large population and a lot of business potential. We investigated, visited people there, they invited us there. We cannot say we are successful in Turkey yet as it has only been two years. It is just a start, but we are headed in right direction.

DS: On a slightly more personal note, you were appointed chairman of Burgan Bank in April 2010. What is your vision for Burgan?

MA: I joined as chairman in 2010 but I was here before as vice chairman and I have been a board member for about 14 years now. I think the vision of the group as a whole is to take Burgan to the next level and to develop the bank locally and internationally. We will continue to look for opportunities to develop the bank further and maybe acquire other banks. We have the capability and the liquidity to do this. We are looking for opportunities and we are looking to do more business and develop the business. We want to be number two in the country. My message for foreign investors is come to Kuwait - do not be afraid.