Qatari bank and Kuwaiti partners to set up Islamic finance firm
Qatar National Bank said on Sunday it had agreed with Kuwaiti partners to set up an Islamic financial services firm to tap growing demand for Shariah-compliant financing in the Gulf. Qatar’s biggest bank by market value will own 30 per cent of Kuwaiti-Qatari Co for Leasing and Investment, which will provide Islamic financial services to Gulf states, the lender said in a statement on the Doha bourse website, without giving details. Qatar National Bank did not name its Kuwaiti partners in the KD24 million (Dh325m) firm, which will comply with Islam’s ban on purchasing assets that pay interest or earn profits from industries related to alcohol, gambling or pork processing, among others. The bank’s Islamic banking operations – which contributed QR148m (Dh149.45m) to its profit last year – climbed by as much as 80 per cent in 2008, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer Ramzi Talat Mari said earlier. The bank has been expanding abroad as competition in its home market intensifies. The lender said in September it had agreed with partners to set up a bank in Syria and revealed earlier this month it took over the Qatar Government’s 50 per cent stake in Tunisian-Qatari Bank. In July, Qatar National had taken over the government’s shares in Jordan’s second-biggest lender. (Reuters) Source: http://www.business24-7.ae.
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