HOSPITALITY
By admin • Dec 29th, 2008Banking
$200m Islamic investment
bank launched in Bahrain
MANAMA – Bahrain has launched a $200 million Shari’ah-compliant First Investment Bank that will offer institutional and individual investors products and services focused on the Middle East and North Africa region. Registered as a Bahrain joint stock company, the bank has a paid up capital of $120 million, and its board of directors is led by chairman, Mohammad A. al-Alloush. Heading the bank’s senior management team is Bahraini national Jamal Ali al-Hazeem. First Investment Bank’s shareholder base consists of financial institutions such as First Investment Company, Boubyan Bank, Commercial Real Estate Company and Gulf Investment House from Kuwait, Tabayun Investment of Bahrain, Abdullatif al-Issa Group of Saudi Arabia, al-Mawarid Finance of Dubai and Noor Capital of Abu Dhabi. “We intend to create new models in the region’s investment banking industry and seek out partnerships between the private and public sector that will deliver maximum benefits,” said al-Alloush. The asset base of Islamic institutions in Bahrain has increased
34.4 percent over the past year, with Islamic banks reporting assets of up to $16.4 billion in total as of last year. The global Islamic banking industry now manages more than $500 billion in funds, with Islamic banks in the GCC alone recording average net profit growths of 11 percent annually.
