Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is set to become a major shareholder in National Bank of Sharjah (NBS) following its decision to acquire a 10 per cent stake. NBS will have two members from the KFH on its board. The shares were acquired at Dh8 a share.

With this exercise, the equity capital of the bank will go up to Dh349 million. The Sharjah government will still have a substantial stake of around 40 per cent. UAE nationals still control around 80 per cent of the bank's capital.

KFH's stake is considered a boost for the Sharjah bank since it is expected to bring with it considerable expertise in the financial sector. The bank also decided to double its branch network to 18 once the bank's conversion into an Islamic bank is complete.

On the sidelines of the function marking the relocation of its Dubai branch, NBS General Manager Saeed Mohammed said the action plan for the conversion into an Islamic bank will be completed within a year.

He added that the hunger in the market for an Islamic bank is very big and it was clearly manifest from the study carried out before deciding on the move.

"Our existing customers have already promised continued cooperation even after the conversion into an Islamic bank. Moreover, from the performance of the other two Islamic banks in the UAE, I am sure our bank also will continue to perform well as an Islamic bank."