Bahrain Islamic Bank is to double its paid-in capital to BD 23 million ($61 million) through a rights issue. 'The capital will be used to fund our plans for the future,' says Bahrain Islamic's general manager Abdul Latif Janahi. 'We want Bahrain Islamic to be an international bank.'

The first stage of the bank's expansion will see it establishing a regional presence, after which Janahi says the ambition is for a global reach. 'We are looking in a number of directions. For example, the UAE is an active market and we would very much like to get into Saudi Arabia, though licences can be hard to come by,' he says. The three-year budget for regional expansion caters for the opening of two branches.

Janahi says that the bank will continue to expand its presence in Bahrain, and that six local branches will be added to with a new opening in Isa Town in October. The activities of the bank are also to be extended. 'We are going to establish an offshore unit within the bank, and private banking operations will start within six months,' says Janahi.

'The bank is being re-tooled in response to the process of globalisation. We need a new strategy and the ability to operate at the same standard as international banks,' says Janahi.

The pricing of the rights issue has been fixed at BD 0.175 ($0.46) a share, a slight discount to the current market price of its shares, which closed at BD 0.190 ($0.50) on 7 September. The entire offer has been underwritten by Kuwait Finance House. 'We have confirmation from a large proportion of our shareholders that they will take up the offer and we anticipate no problems getting subscriptions,' says Janahi.