Al Baraka Banking Group's CEO Adnan Yousif has revealed plans to open five more branches across Sudan in the next five years in a recent interview with Arabic language press.
The country's Islamic finance dominated sector has driven Al Baraka to consider setting up a headquarters for which it has purchased land opposite The Central Bank of Sudan. No timeline has been specified yet.
In Libya Al Baraka is getting closer to obtaining its Islamic banking license and, according to Yousif, the group has finalized the procedures to open a representative office and is in discussions with Libyan authorities to set up Islamic banking units. The group has also laid the groundwork for a new head office in Algeria where a Turkish company has been contracted for construction work on the $30m project.
Al Baraka will also be increasing its four Tunisian branches to 10 by the end of this year. Most notably, the group has successfully obtained licenses to establish branches in north Iraq, where it will handle transactions between Iraq and Turkey. With 130 branches in Turkey, the licenses were an important achievement for Al Baraka.
In Egypt the bank's performance has been satisfactory, loan losses remain low and the bank is financing several investment projects in Egypt. Meanwhile, Al Baraka Jordan (Jordan Islamic Bank) plans to expand its current network of 60 branches to 71 by 2015.
© The Islamic Globe 2011
