Manama, 18 April 2017

Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank Inc (Kuveyt Turk), Kuwait Finance House’s leading subsidiary in Turkey, has announced today the relocation of its Gulf operations and staff to Bahrain. Following the move, KuveytTurk Bank will centralize its regional Treasury activities out of Bahrain under its existing wholesale banking license.

KuveytTurk, with the support of Kuwait Finance House’s advanced network and experience in interest-free banking, has acted as a bridge for Turkish investors looking to grow internationally, especially within the Gulf Region. At the end of 2016, KuveytTurk Bank had paid up Capital of TRY 2,787,322,000 and an equity of approximately $1.2 Billion (4.2 billion TRY), and is looking to expand its services in the GCC region over the next three years. In 2015 KuveytTurk also set up the first and only Islamic Bank in Germany named as KT Bank AG Germany. KT Bank AG have also started to play an important role for the trade business between Germany and GCC Countries.  

KuveytTurk joins a number of other leading Turkish companies operating in Bahrain. This includes several prominent Turkish banks, including Yapi ve Kredi Bankası A.S., Vakıfbank Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi, Finansbank A.S., Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank Inc., Turkiye Halk Bankası A.S, Denizbank A.S., ING Bank A.S., Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S., T.C. Ziraat Bankasi A.S. and Turkiye Is Bankası A.S. Bahrain has proven to be a popular place for Turkish companies, with over 1,000 Turkish employees living and working in Bahrain.

Mr. Cetin Yurttaser, Director of KuveytTurk Bahrain said: “We had presence in other Financial Centres within the Region and experienced that Bahrain has the best legal and regulatory infrastructure supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain therefore have decided to move back and centralise our GCC Treasury activities within Bahrain”

Mr. Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) said: “We are pleased to welcome KuveytTurk Bank to Bahrain and believe it is testament to the growing ties between our two countries.

“The economic change we are seeing across the GCC is helping to create exciting opportunities for international investors and the expertise and scale of Turkish companies mean they are well placed to play an important role in the region in the years to come.”

-Ends- 

Further information:
May Taher, Bahrain Economic Development Board
Tel: + 973 1758 9972
Email: internationalmedia@bahrainedb.com

About The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)
The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is a dynamic public agency with an overall responsibility for attracting investment into Bahrain, and is focusing on target economic sectors in which the Kingdom offers significant strengths.

Key areas of focus include tourism, manufacturing, ICT, and logistics and transport services as well as other sub-sectors. The Financial Services sector in Bahrain is particularly strong and the EDB supports in the continuing growth of the banking industry and key sub-sectors, including Islamic Finance, Asset Management, Insurance and Re-Insurance.

For more information on the Bahrain EDB visit www.bahrainedb.com ; for information about Bahrain visit www.bahrain.com

© Press Release 2017