Kuwait’s Burgan Bank will issue bonds worth up to KD140m ($477.5m) with priority going to local investors.

The bank will use the capital raised for expansion and to boost capital adequacy.

“It will be open to everybody, but of course priority will be for the local market,” says Burgan’s chairman Majed Eisa al-Ajeel, who added that the bonds could be issued within a month and could be in a combination of Bahraini dinar and foreign currencies.

In May, Burgan successfully completed its $343.6m rights issue. The proceeds from the capital increase will further be used to strengthen the bank’s business locally as well as capitalise on its expansion strategy, which has primarily targeted high growth markets in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Burgan is the commercial banking subsidiary of investment firm Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco).