Doha, Qatar: QNB Group, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, strengthened its role in cross-border financing during the third quarter of 2026, supporting major investments in AI and digital infrastructure. The quarter’s activity demonstrated the Group’s ability to mobilise international capital through collaboration between its teams, with financing spanning technology infrastructure in Asia and Europe, sovereign funding in the Middle East and business growth in Africa.
Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Group Chief Executive Officer of QNB, said: “The AI age represents an economic paradigm shift. The necessary investment in AI and digital infrastructure relies on scalable and sustainable funding sources. QNB has the cross-border capacity to support this revolution and drive economic competitiveness. Delivering this investment requires more than capital: it requires financial institutions that understand local conditions and can structure financing, mobilise lenders and coordinate execution across borders.
“For QNB, the strength of our international network lies in our ability to bring these capabilities together around our clients’ needs. As investment connects more markets and sectors, we see a clear opportunity to deepen our role in financing the infrastructure and businesses that will drive long-term growth. Our activity this quarter demonstrates how we are translating that opportunity into practical support for clients.”
The Group’s capital markets capabilities were also demonstrated through its subsidiary, QNB Capital, which acted as a Global Coordinator on the State of Qatar’s $3bn dual-tranche bond issuance. The issuance attracted orders exceeding $6bn, more than twice the amount issued, underscoring strong international investor demand and QNB Capital’s role in connecting sovereign financing needs with global capital markets.
QNB’s teams in Singapore and Indonesia collaborated on a senior term loan facility of up to $3.1bn for ZanKore’s AI Compute Platform. Acting alongside other international banks as a Senior Mandated Lead Arranger, Underwriter and Bookrunner, QNB supported financing for NVIDIA-powered AI and GPU cloud infrastructure.
Beyond digital infrastructure, the Group took leading roles in financing real estate and broader business investment. In Singapore, QNB acted as a core underwriting bank and Global Coordinator for ESR’s five-year refinancing facility, which increased beyond its initial $2bn target following strong lender demand. This was QNB Singapore’s first Global Coordinator mandate, demonstrating its growing capacity to bring international lenders together.
In Europe, QNB London secured its first underwriting mandate with Brookfield, acting as Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner on senior financing equivalent to approximately $584m for Hibernia Real Estate Group’s portfolio in Dublin. In Türkiye, QNB Leasing secured syndicated financing exceeding $117m equivalent from international commercial banks, diversifying its funding sources.
Alongside its financing activity, QNB continued to improve access to payments and everyday banking services. In Syria, QNB Syria enabled an international Mastercard payment through its point-of-sale infrastructure for the first time in more than 15 years. It subsequently issued the country’s first internationally accepted payment card in collaboration with Mastercard, extending access to international payments for local customers.
QNB improved its overall ranking in the 2026 Euromoney Cash Management Survey, which drew more than 26,000 responses globally, reflecting client recognition of its cash management services. Alongside Euromoney and MEED awards for digital banking and customer experience, and recognition for QNB Türkiye and QNB Egypt, this highlighted the Group’s continued focus on service quality throughout its international network.
As 2026 enters its final quarter, QNB will continue to build on the coordinated financing capabilities demonstrated during Q3, supporting investment in AI, digital infrastructure and other growth sectors.
