Kuwait-based Islamic finance house The International Investor (TII) is to list its shares on the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE), says Adnan al-Bahar, TII's chairman and managing director. 'We hope TII shares will be available on the BSE within a month,' he told MEED on 18 January.

Al-Bahar says the move is the first step in an ambitious plan to list the bank on all the stock markets in the Gulf. 'We want to make our shares available to a broader base of investors. It will bring the bank closer to its investors and potentially enhance the value of the stock as it will not be tied to the movements of any one market,' he says. The possibility of seeking parallel listings outside the Gulf, such as in Egypt, is also being examined.

The decision to launch the plan in Bahrain follows the announcement in mid-December that TII was to list the majority of the funds it manages on the BSE (MEED 24:12:99). TII has also expanded its profile in Bahrain with the joint venture establishment of Al-Khaleej Islamic Bank with Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (MEED 20:8:99).

Al-Bahar says TII will be releasing full-year 1999 financial results by the end of January and that he expects profits to be up around 10 per cent on the KD 4.65 million ($15.3 million) recorded in 1998.