Qatar-based investment bank QInvest, is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Qatar Exchange in 2011, according to the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO) Shahzad Shahbaz.

The flotation could occur in the fourth quarter of 2011 and is likely to be used by some current investors in Qinvest as an opportunity to capitalise on their stakes in the firm.

“Right now, the time frame we’re looking at is towards the end of next year, but not before that,” says Shahbaz.  

“We want to try to get close to three years of performance under our belt. The IPO is something we’re definitely interested in doing, although the exact timing will depend on market conditions.”

QInvest was set up by a group of regional islamic investors, including Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), and Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH), to act as a regional islamic investment bank. GFH holds a 5 per cent stake in QInvest after selling 10 per cent of the company to QIB in October 2009 for $50m. “We are looking forward to the IPO of QInvest as its a nice asset and a good opportunity for the current shareholders,” says Ted Pretty, CEO of GFH.

The size of the flotation is yet to be decided, says Pretty. “I’m not sure how much the IPO will be for, as the decision has not yet been made about whether to just list the company or to raise additional capital at the same time.”

Shahbaz also says the bank has not yet decided on the size of the stake it wants to list on the Qatar Exchange.

QInvest was established in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) in April 2007 and has authorised capital of $1bn and paid-up capital of $750m.

Along with Switzerland’s Credit Suisse and the UK’s HSBC, QInvest managed QIB’s five-year Islamic bond (sukuk) at the end of September, which raised $750m.