The Manama-based Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) recently announced plans to invest up to $200 million in Bahraini state projects this year. BBK has no plans to seek loans to finance these ventures. "At present, we don't have any plan to borrow money from banks for financing because we have enough liquidity," BBK's General Manager Farid Al-Mulla told Sibexlink.
"We expect our activities this year to focus on financing state projects, as Bahrain is expected to invest more than two billion dollars on various projects," Al-Mulla added. He noted that BBK’s participation in financing these projects will range between $150-$200 million.
BBK's shareholders approved the distribution of 14.1 million Bahraini dinars ($37.4 million) in cash dividends to shareholders for 2001, up from 10.2 million dinars for 2000. BBK announced BD16.7 million net profits for 2001, a record for the bank since 1980. The profit represents a 27.5 percent rise over the figure earned in the previous year.
BBK was established 1971 with its shareholding divided equally between Bahraini individuals and two quasi-governmental institutions, and Kuwaiti financial institutions. Apart from its head office in the Bahrain capital of Manama, the bank currently operates 20 branches and 23 automatic teller machines (ATM) situated across the country. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
