Ahli United and Legal to set up insurer in Bahrain

Sun Apr 6, 2008 9:41am BST

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KUWAIT (Reuters) - Bahrain's Ahli United Bank AUBH.BH (AUBK.KW) said on Sunday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain's Legal and General Group (LGEN.L) to set up an Islamic insurance company in Bahrain.

Ahli United and the British financial services firm will each own 50 percent of the new company, the bank said in a statement on the Kuwait bourse Web site. The company will have capital of $200 million (100 million pounds) with paid up capital of $25 million.

The new firm will offer life and health insurance services as well as pension savings programmes for individuals and companies in the Gulf, subject to the Bahraini regulatory approvals, it added.

It will operates according to Islamic law banning interest payments.

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