IslamicFinance.de

Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) plans to up its stake in Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KCB) to gain majority ownership, its chairman Ahmed al-Mutawa said. The investment firm will increase its stake in KCB to between 52 percent and 54 percent once it has received regulatory approval from the Bahraini authorities. GFH currently owns 47 percent of KCB. Increasing its stake to the range indicated by Mutawa would cost GFH between 2.65 million dinars and 3.72 million dinars ($7.03 million-$9.87 million). KCB and unlisted Bahraini lender Bank Al Khair dropped merger plans in March after they failed to agree terms for the tie-up.