Dubai — Mubasher: Dubai Investments Company (DIC), listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), on Tuesday said that an international company has expressed interest in purchasing a 15% stake in Arkan Bank, a wholesale Islamic financial institution owned by a DIC-led investor consortium.
A meeting was held four weeks ago to discuss the terms of the deal with the international institution, Al Bayan newspaper reported, citing Khalid bin Kalban, managing director and CEO of Dubai Investments.
It will confirm its final offer within a 45-day period after conducting due diligence on the transaction, bin Kalban added.
In March, DIC, in collaboration with a group of investors, announced the establishment of Arkan Bank with a paid-up capital of AED 367.25 million, and an authorised capital at AED 836.25 million.
The bank’s shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange after 12 months of launching, according to DIC’s statement.
Arkan Bank provides sharia-compliant banking services and investment products, the Dubai-based investment group said.
The bank includes four main sectors; namely corporate banking, asset management and awqaf, investment banking, and treasury, the statement showed.
Khalid bin Kalban, who doubles as the founder and chairman of Arkan Bank, said that the bank would initially focus on providing services for the GCC.
During the first nine months of 2018, DIC’s profits shrank to AED 669.019 million from AED 794.63 million in the same period a year earlier.
