Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the country's biggest Islamic lender, said on Wednesday it made an early payment of $250 million that was due in March 2011.

"KFH paid an early instalment worth $250 million that was due next March, as part of a murabaha financing deal with several international and regional banks  worth $850 million," KFH said in a statement.

The murabaha deal, secured in 2006, was aimed at financing the lender's expansion plans and future projects, KFH said. It did not name the lenders.

In a murabaha, a financier such as a bank buys a commodity and sells it to the customer at a higher price, complying with Islam's ban on interest. - Reuters