Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking seeks to expand in Indonesia

Bahraini Islamic lender Al Baraka Group is seeking to expand in Indonesia, where investors mostly prefer Shariah-compliant banking products there, an official said Monday.

Al Baraka plans to acquire an Indonesian institution to establish the group’s representation in the world’s most populous Muslim nation as well as to expand in the east of Asia region, Al Baraka Group’s chief executive Adnan Yousif told Amwal Al Ghad.

“The group has also plans to establish presence in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda … since these countries have strong connections with the Gulf,” Yousif said.

Al Baraka Group has strong presence in 16 countries, most recently in in Morocco, where it has established five branches and plans to have more up to 37 by 2020.