"The group is in the process of
obtaining approval from Saudi authorities to enter the Kingdom this year
through acquiring one of the companies operating in the Saudi market," the
lender said in a statement on the bourse website.
Al-Baraka did not disclose the name of
the Saudi firm it planned to buy, adding it would reveal further details after
gaining official approval.
"It will be an Islamic investment
firm," Chief Executive Adnan Yousif told Al-Arabiya TV, adding it was a
medium-sized company. "(The company is) worth around SR300 million."
Adnan said the acquisition will be
funded internally.
"We expect a return of between 11
and 15 percent on the existing capital of the company annually," he added.
The lender said in June it was also keen
to expand in the French market, but plans remained on hold awaiting French
Islamic banking regulations. It is also eyeing a stake in Malaysian Bank
Muamalat and expects the deal to be concluded before 2011.
The Al-Baraka Banking Group has a wide
presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in
12 countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 300
branches.
Al-Baraka had signed a share swap deal
with Saudi Investment in 2007 but scrapped the deal in 2009 blaming the global
financial crisis.
