Gulf cash behind growth of Sudan's oldest bank

Bank of Khartoum, Sudan's oldest bank, wants to boost its agricultural finance business with the help of Gulf Arab banks after winning the African country's first-ever international rating, its head said on Thursday.

Undeterred by decades of wars, poverty and spiralling inflation, the bank has been steadily expanding its retail and corporate business in the vast country.

Its main shareholders, Dubai Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, are currently more than tripling the capital to 1 billion Sudanese pounds (around $225m).

With Sudan largely cut off from international markets due to US sanctions over its human rights record, Bank of Khartoum is one of the few local banks with foreign ties.

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