Kuwait’s Noor plans Bahrain bank in Q2

Kuwait’s Noor Financial Investment Co plans to set up an Islamic investment bank in Bahrain with a share capital of $200 million, the firm’s vice chairman said on Tuesday.

“We will set up an Islamic investment bank in Bahrain with a capital of $200 million as soon as we get the licence, which we expect in the second quarter,” Naser Al-Marri told Reuters on the phone. Noor, and a group of companies including al-Takhsis Co, will own 51 percent of the bank, while 49 percent will be offered to other investors, Marri said, adding that his company’s stake has not been decided yet.


Comply

Demand for investments and financial services that comply with Islamic law – which includes a ban on the receipt of interest – is growing among the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims.

Bahrain is an important financial hub with many people knowledgeable about Islamic finance, Al-Marri said.

“We chose Bahrain also because the regulations in Bahrain are clear and they protect foreign investors,” he added.
Noor, which has been expanding abroad, is owned by Kuwait’s National Industries Group Holding.

National Industries said on Sunday it plans to set up an investment bank in the UAE with a capital of $100 million as well as an Islamic bank in Bahrain, Kuwait’s news agency KUNA reported quoting Chairman Saad Al-Saad.

Meanwhile, State-owned Emirates Post will apply for a licence for an Islamic banking joint venture with Noor Islamic Bank this year in order to expand outside the UAE, its chairman said on Tuesday.
“We will apply for a licence for our joint venture with Noor Islamic Bank because according to the regulations we have to do so in order to expand outside of the UAE,” Abdulla al-Daboos told Reuters by telephone.


“We expect to apply for it by the end of 2008.” The joint venture, set up last week with a capital of up to 500 million dirhams ($136.2 million), would initially operate under the licence of Noor Islamic Bank and would provide banking services to low-income people, Daboos said.

Emirates Post plans to spend up to 1.5 billion dirhams over five years on acquisitions of Asian companies in postal and financial services, Daboos told Reuters last week.

Demand for investments and financial services that comply with Islamic law —which includes a ban on the receipt of interest — is growing among the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims. This month, Noor Islamic Bank, which is 25 percent owned by the government of Dubai and 25 percent by the emirate’s ruler, started operations with 10 branches in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi also plans to start operations of new Islamic bank Al Hilal in June, which will focus initially on boosting its operations in the UAE and then expand into the Gulf and the rest of the Arab world.