London, March 30, IRNA - A delegation from the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has reached an agreement with a group of Iranian businessmen to set up a joint venture bank, capitalised at Dlrs 40 million, according to Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).

The bank was said to be initially planning to operate out of Bahrain offering the full range of banking services.

"We are just awaiting approval from the central bank (Bank Markazi)," BCCI board member Ibrahim Zainal was quoted saying. But he added that there were "some legal obstacles to be overcome."

Last year, the Iranian Foreign Investment Company (IFIC) established a Eur 50 million (Dlrs 58.5 m) investment fund in Bahrain to allow foreign investment for the first time in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

... Payvand News - 3/30/04 ... --