IslamicFinance.de

ALBARAKA Bank in South Africa was keen to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, JSE, and would probably do so by the end of next year, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the chairman said.

Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), the parent company, is listed in Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt and Sudan.

Albaraka Bank, SA's only Islamic financial institution, passed the R2bn asset level. This compares with only R400 000 in 1999 when it was formed. CEO Shabir Chohan said that it had taken the bank 15 years to achieve assets of R1bn and then another five years to reach the current level.

Chohan said that although Muslims represented only 2% of the population of SA, he believed there were opportunities for other players in the market that could offer greater convenience and more branches.