(Sukuk.net - The Peninsula) Leading European equity broker and fully-owned subsidiary of Calyon, Credit Agricole Cheuvreux (CA Cheuvreux), has said Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) will capture 50 percent of all new Shariah-compliant Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) deal flow.

 In a report titled "QIB, At the Vanguard of Islamic Finance," CA Cheuvreux said QIB's presence and share in the Qatar was a "secure domestic footprint" with a market share of 53.3 percent of Shariah-compliant assets and nearly 10 percent of overall banking assets.

"QIB is considered a leading global provider of Islamic banking via an aggressive international expansion plan and the development of new financial instruments and is covering the increasing demand on Islamic banking and financial services," said the report.

CA Cheuvreux said QIB has succeeded in establishing the first global network ever in Shariah-compliant banking, as it has already opened full-fledged affiliates in the UK, Lebanon and Malaysia and will continue to expand into continental Europe, Kazakhstan, Turkey, the MENA region and Southeast Asia.

Moreover, as QIB synchronises IT and Shariah compliance functions, it will reduce the turnaround time of Shariah approval processes. CA Cheuvreux viewed this as a significant competitive advantage given the current lengthy decision-making process at most Shariah- compliant banks.

This efficient coordination between technology and Shariah-compliance functions has helped propel QIB to its position as a market leader in project finance and real estate and helped in its launch of several international ventures.

CA Cheuvreux said the management had succeeded in its efforts to restructure the bank internally to accommodate planned external growth. A new organisational structure has been implemented, as well as new IT structures and risk management capability. This has enabled QIB to launch its CIB business through which it has managed to land major deals in the key segments of transportation, hydrocarbons, and power and water. Moreover, QIB is launching a dedicated CIB desk to service top Qatari and international clients, said the report.

Salah Jaidah, QIB CEO, said: "This positive evaluation reflects the significant growth that QIB has achieved thanks to a successful strategy focused on the development of its activities, retail expansion and corporate financing, as well as undertaking macro investment projects and offering innovative products. All this has been reflected positively in operation returns."

Jean-Marc Riegel, QIB General Manager (Investment Banking and Development Group), said: "We always look for more and more opportunities to distinguish ourselves and achieve recognition through such highly - reputed entities, especially with the excellent results achieved in the first half of this year and the Q3 results which will be announced in the next few days." CA Cheuvreux said QIB has laid the groundwork for a fundamental realignment of its business towards the development of a broad international network of sister banks and a comprehensive Shariah-compliant CIB platform.