The Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has opened its first fully-owned subsidiary outside Kuwait, in the Bahraini capital of Manama. The commercial branch of the Islamic bank will focus on corporate finance, global and direct investment and treasury operations. The bank will operate with a paid-in capital of $100.
Earlier this week, the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) has licensed three financial institutions to open Offshore banking units (OBUs) in the tiny Island, known as the Gulf’s banking hub. BMA, the kingdom’s central bank, currently regulates a total of 179 commercial banks and financial institutions, with combined assets topping $100 billion. Nearly 50 of these institutions are OBUs.
One of the largest Islamic financial institutions in the world, KFH offers commercial banking, investment, trade finance and real estate financing services. With assets in excess of $7.3 billion, KFH has thus far invested a total of $1.5 billion outside the gulf emirate of Kuwait, while adhering to Islamic banking principles. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
