Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the only Islamic bank in the emirate, announced Tuesday, January 9, a 10 percent rise in profits in 2000 to more than $370 million. The bank, operating under Sharia laws of Islam, posted 115 million dinars ($377 million) of profit mainly due to modernization of its banking, commercial and investment procedures, chairman Bader al-Mukhaizeem said in a statement.
KFH was established in 1977 with a paid-up capital of 56 million dinars ($183.6 million) to apply Islamic banking principles which do not allow interest.
The bank's assets, in which the government has a major stake, rose to 1.948 billion dinars ($6.3 billion) at the end of September 2000, an increase of 178 million dinars ($580 million) from its levels at the end of 1999. —(AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)