Kuwait Finance to Open Bahrain Bank Branch

Kuwait Finance House would soon open a branch in Bahrain.

the bank was granted a licence from the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) to operate as an Islamic commercial bank last year.

The bank will soon commence its operations," Deputy General Manager Fawaz al-Issa said.

"We have chosen Bahrain as a launching pad for our investment in the Gulf region," said Issa.

The bank will mainly focus on corporate finance, global investment, treasury and direct investment, and will have a paid-up capital of $100 million and authorised capital of $1.0 billion.

Issa said the BMA, Bahrain's central bank, also granted his firm's subsidiary Kuwait Turkish Finance House (KTFH) permission to open an offshore banking representative office in the island state.

KFH, which operates according to Islamic principles, holds a 62 percent stake in KTFH. The remaining 40 percent is held by Turkish and Kuwaiti institutions.