Lebanon’s Bank Audi mulls selling Egyptian unit at ‘right price’ – The National

Lebanon’s Bank Audi mulls selling Egyptian unit at ‘right price’ – The National

Bank Audi is also proceeding with an equity increase which the central bank has instructed all Lebanese banks to implement to help weather the crisis, the country's worst in decades.. Finance chief Tamer Ghazaleh said Bank Audi will call a shareholder meeting for the second week of February to vote on the equity raising and he was confident of securing shareholder support.. Bank Audi is "doing the equity increase and independently considering discussing with parties selling Bank Audi Egypt at the right price", he said.. We have our own ambition and expansion plan in Egypt," he said, referring to a potential sale of Bank Audi Egypt.. Lebanon's biggest bank by total assets has expanded in the region since 2005 and has operations in 10 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including its fully owned subsidiary Bank Audi Egypt.. Bank Audi had enough shareholder support to secure approval for the equity increase, Mr Ghazaleh said.. We have enough support to call for the [shareholder meeting] soon," he said.. Across Lebanon's banking sector, a 20 per cent equity increase should raise $4bn, representing 2 per cent of the banking system.. Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh said in a televised