MANAMA, 1 August 2005 — Arab Banking Corp (ABC), the largest Arab bank in Bahrain in terms of assets, said yesterday that net profit in the first half of the year rose by 20 percent to $61 million. The Bahrain-based investment group said in a statement that its total assets amounted to $15.3 billion at the end of June against $14.9 billion at the end of last year. ABC’s major shareholders are the Libyan central bank, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Kuwaiti finance ministry, which together own 70 percent of the bank. Another 25 percent of the stock is traded on the Bahrain, Kuwait and Paris stock exchanges.