The British Bank of the Middle East (BBME) will close subscriptions on 6 November for Guaranteed Capital Investment Bonds that give investors the opportunity to benefit from growth in the Japanese stock market. The bonds, the third issue of its kind promoted by the bank, will be marketed in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.

The bonds are issued by Midland Offshore, which like BBME is part of HSBC Group. Previous issues promoted by BBME were linked to the US and UK market, and raised about $25 million. In the latest issue, the minimum investment is $5,000 or £5,000, and will be for a fixed three-year term.

'Investors can choose from three different levels of return: secure growth, index growth or accelerated growth,' according to Saleh al-Kowary, BBME Bahrain's acting chief executive officer. Both the secure growth and index growth option offer 100 per cent capital security. The accelerated growth option offers only 75 per cent capital security, but offers higher potential returns because of the higher risk.