Kuwait's Burgan Bank wants to raise capital this year in order to comply with Basel III regulations and fuel growth, the lender's chief executive said on Monday.

"We are discussing this with the central bank," CEO Eduardo Eguren told reporters on the sidelines of the bank's annual general meeting.

"I know that we may need to increase capital by 20, 30 per cent for sure," he said, without giving an exact figure.

The increase, which may happen in the third or fourth quarter of this year, could be "pure capital" or perpetual bonds or both, Eguren said, depending on discussions with regulators.

Burgan is 58 per cent owned by conglomerate Kuwait Projects Company.-Reuters