Bahrain’s labour fund Tamkeen and Ahli United Bank (AUB) have signed a BD40-million ($106.08 million) portfolio to provide subsidised financing to eligible medium and large-sized enterprises in Bahrain.

The agreement was signed by Dr Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, chief executive of Tamkeen, and Adel A El Labban, group chief executive officer and managing director of Ahli United Bank, said a statement.

The subsidy is funded by Tamkeen under its “Tamweel+” initiative, which offers Sharia-compliant financing with lower rates and flexible tenors for qualifying projects undertaken by medium and large-sized enterprises established in Bahrain, it said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tamkeen will reimburse 70 per cent of the annual nominal profit rate to enrolled firms, while AUB’s Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services will allocate and manage a portfolio of BD40 million ($106.08 million) under this scheme and undertakes to process and evaluate all applications as per “Tamweel+” and AUB’s financing criteria, it added.

Eligible enterprises can apply for BD1 million ($2.652 million) to BD2.5 million ($6.63 million) in financing for their expansion projects, with repayment tenors extending up to 10 years and grace periods of up to 2 years as agreed with the bank. The financing can be used to establish new projects or expand existing businesses to facilitate entering into new markets locally and regionally, said a statement.  

Dr Janahi said: “We are delighted to have AUB join our “Tamweel+” scheme, and we look forward to a long term partnership with this major financial institution.”