Kuwait Islamic bank to raise capital by 50 percent

Shareholders of Kuwait's Boubyan Bank, one of three Islamic banks in the emirate, on Thursday decided to raise the bank's capital by 50 percent, the Kuwaiti bourse said. The bank's capital will be raised from 116.6 million dinars (407.7 million dollars) to 174.9 million dinars (611.5 million dollars), the bouse said on its website.
The process will be carried out by issuing 583 million new shares at a nominal price of 100 fils (0.35 dollars) and a premium of 150 fils (0.52 dollars) per share. The bank was trading on Thursday at 0.58 dinars (two dollars) a share. The rights issue can raise up to 145.7 million dinars (510 million dollars) of needed cash for the bank.
Established in 2004, Boubyan was listed on the bourse in 2006. National Bank of Kuwait, the emirate's largest conventional bank, is the largest shareholder with a 40-percent stake in Boubyan with the Commercial Bank of Kuwait controlling 20 percent.