* Mandates for Islamic bond between $250 mln-$300 mln
* Lender has no expansion plans for time being
By Shaheen Pasha
DUBAI, April 12 (Reuters) - Noor Islamic Bank has two sukuk, or Islamic bond mandates, one each in the Gulf region and Turkey, the Dubai-based lender's chief executive said on Tuesday.
The deal size on both issues would be between $250 million to $300 million, Hussain Al Qemzi told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai. (full story)
"We're not seeing the mega deals of three or four years ago...but we are going to do two more (sukuk) by the end of the year," Qemzi said.
Noor Islamic Bank is 25-percent owned by Dubai Investment Group, the investment arm of Dubai Holding, owned by the ruler of Dubai.
When the bank first launched in 2008, it said it aimed to be the world's largest Islamic bank within five years through acquisitions in countries such as Indonesia, Egypt and Britain.
But Qemzi said the lender had changed its expansion model from before and had no plans to build presence in other markets at present.
He also denied the bank had plans to merge with another financial institution for the time being.
The lender posted an operating profit for the first time in 2010. (Writing by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Dinesh Nair)
Source : http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/noorislamic-sukuk-idUSLDE73B0BU20110412 _ April 12, 2011
