IslamicFinance.de

Bahrain's Islamic lender Al Baraka yesterday said it planned to enter the Saudi Arabian market through an acquisition of an Islamic investment company there, valued at around 300 million Saudi riyals ($80m). Al Baraka did not disclose the name of the Saudi firm it planned to buy, adding it would reveal further details after gaining official approval. The Al Baraka Banking Group has a wide presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 12 countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 300 branches. Al Baraka had signed a share swap deal with Saudi Investment in 2007 but scrapped the deal in 2009 blaming the global financial crisis.