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Al Baker said the airline is witnessing some 35 per cent growth every year and he hopes to continue to grow even faster. Image Credit: Supplied picture

Dubai: Qatar Islamic Bank, or QIB, said yesterday it would continue to finance government projects in the gas-rich state and grow its business regionally and internationally.

"QIB has strived to consolidate its participation in the national economy through its funding of macro-companies in a new trend intended to further consolidate its leading role in financing national projects," chairman Shaikh Jasem Hamad Jabor Al Thani said in an e-mailed statement.

QIB, Qatar's second-largest lender by market value, signed in the first quarter a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, with South Korean broker Woori Investment & Securities and said it would have 30 domestic branches by the end of year, after adding four more to its existing network in 2010, the bank said in the statement.

"During this first quarter, Qatar Islamic Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Woori Investment and Securities Inc. with the aim of facilitating mutual cooperation between the two parties in the search for suitable financial and investment opportunities in the Korean, Asian and Qatari markets," QIB said.

Shares in QIB yesterday closed down 3.36 per cent at 77 riyals (Dh77.60) in a negative market.