Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the country’s fourth-largest bank by market value, said it had agreed to establish a new unit in Kazakhstan as part of plans to expand outside its home market.

QIB already has subsidiaries in Malaysia, Lebanon and Britain.

QIB is seeking to get a license for Islamic activities in Turkey and is considering purchasing a bank in Egypt in the next year, a company spokesman told Reuters in March.

al-Aswaq, Saudi Arabia, May 20, 2008