KUWAIT CITY, 24 May 2004 — The flotation of Kuwait’s second Islamic bank which closed on Thursday has been oversubscribed by 3.45 times, the head of the founders’ committee Dherar Al-Rabah told the state news agency KUNA yesterday. The committee received bids worth 270 million dinars ($900 million) for the 760 million available shares valued at $261 million and which represent 76 percent of the Bubiyan Islamic Bank’s capital, Rabah said. The state-owned Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has been allocated a 20 percent stake, and the pensions and social security fund four percent in the bank’s total capital of 100 million dinars ($330 million).