Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Yahsi said that Albaraka Turk was in the process of expanding overseas, with the Balkans as a prime target as the region has little in the way of Islamic banking. Concerning the markets Albaraka Turk was thinking of moving into, he said: “One is Bosnia and the other is Albania”.
He did stress this would have to be in partnership with a local institution, he said: “Regarding a partnership, this is still in the project phase. We haven’t started official talks yet, but this is the type of initiative we are interested in.” (full story)
Yahsi also said that Albaraka Turk was looking at the Islamic capital markets to raise capital. One way would be through the issuance of Sukuk, he said: “This could happen in the second half [of the year]... We are planning a Sukuk which is underwritten by our own property, namely the Albaraka Turk headquarters. The size may be around $100-$200m.”
Albaraka Turk, one of four ‘participation’ or Islamic banks in Turkey saw its net income rise by 25% last year, reporting profits of TRY134m ($84m) in 2010.
The bank’s assets grew 30% over the same period, in comparison an 8.7% average profit rise and a 20.8% asset size growth for Turkish banking as a whole.
Albaraka Turk is in the final phase of opening a branch in Arbil, a trade hub in Kurdish-administered northern Iraq. Yahsi expects regulatory approval in a matter of days. The new branch would be the first Arbil branch for a Turkish Islamic lender.
Source : http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111:albaraka-turk-in-balkan-move&catid=8:artcile&Itemid=38
