New Islamic Bank to open in the Palestinian territories

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A new Islamic bank will open in the Palestinian territories later this year, and it began selling shares to the public on Wednesday, a member of its founding committee said.

Al Safa Bank Co., founded locally, will be based in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It will be capitalised at $75 million.

"Taking this step reflects confidence in the Palestinian economy and its banking sector, and in the fact that prospects for investment show promise," secretary of the founding committee, Abdel-Rahim Al-Hassan, told Reuters.

Co-founders of the bank have already bought some 37 million shares, valued at $37 million, with another 38 million shares now on sale to the public, Al-Hassan said.

The Ramallah branch will open in the third quarter of 2016, he said. Al Safa will be the third bank in the West Bank to operate under Islamic law in which all forms of interest are forbidden and banks and customers share investment risks and any profits.

Al-Hassan said the bank will offer services that include project-funding, foreign currency trading and real estate investment.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem)