Lankan appointed director to South African bank

APPOINTMENT: A leading Dubai based Sri Lankan businessman Farook Kassim, has been appointed as a director of Albaraka Bank, a South Africa's leading Muslim financial institution.

Kassim is CEO of the Al Bogari Group, based out of Dubai and has business interests in 15 countries with in many areas including, Commodity Trading, Electronics, Precious Metals, Scrap Vessels, Aviation, Real Estate, Logistics, Freight and Forwarding, Aviation, Islamic Banking and Insurance, Education and Travel.

He managed the Al Bogari Group for the past 31 years and recently completed the 34th session of the Owner / President Management Programme conducted by Harvard Business School and is a Harvard Alumni.

He is also Vice Chairman of the Dubai Foodstuff Group, which has been set up by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

Albaraka Bank, an institution which follows Sharia banking principles, increased its headline earnings a share by 52% for the year ending December 2005, with net profit rising by 36%, while deposits increased by over 13.4 %.

The Albaraka Bank was established in 1989 as a pioneer of Islamic banking in South Africa and owned by local and international investors including the Saudi based Dallah Al Baraka Group.