BAHRAIN: Venture Capital Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic wholesale bank, has announced that it has sold its stake in The World Development Company, which owns an island plot in The World, a residential and leisure community off the coast of Dubai, UAE.

The bank said that the exit was successful and profitable for its investors, following the boom in the UAE real estate market. The bank’s chairman, Shaikh Mohamed Duaij Khalifa Alkhalifa, said that the project had faced many challenges since its inception.

The bank also revealed that it was recently acquired by Esterad Investment Company, a Bahrain-based investment company and one of the oldest in the kingdom. The bank said that it is under new leadership and is offering an alternative exit strategy for its investors, including options to convert into the bank’s newly issued perpetual Sukuk.

The bank’s chairman said that the market and the investors have shown exceptional positive feedback on the conversion to perpetual Sukuk. He also said that the bank is expected to merge with Esterad within the next six months, which will strengthen the bank’s financial position and return it to profitability.