The Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) is to launch a public offering for shares worth 40 million pounds (73 million dollars), raising the capital of the country's only Islamic bank to 54 million pounds, its president said in an interview published here Thursday.
IBB which was granted formal approval to operate by Britain's Financial Services Authority on Monday is due to offer the sale of 160 million shares worth 40 million pounds, Abdul Rahman Abdul Malik told the Akhbar al-Khaleej daily in Bahrain.
"The move is meant to help the bank implement its strategy of expansion across a number of countries in the European Union," said Abdul Malik.
IBB which is due to open the doors of its first branch next month in London, is the first bank in Europe to specifically address the needs of Muslims, of whom there are 1.8 million in Britain alone.
Islam's Shariah law imposes a series of restrictions on the activities of banks, including a ban on charging interest for loans and prohibiting clients' money from being invested in companies linked with areas such as alcohol, tobacco and pornography.
The notion of Shariah-approved finance first emerged in Egypt at the start of the 1960s, and was developed in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Around 150 Islamic financial institutions operate in 40 countries, but their unconventional financing arrangements make them complicated to set up in the West.
Economists estimate that the Islamic finance market world-wide is worth an estimated 200 billion dollars and is growing at 15 percent a year.
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