National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said on Monday the central bank had renewed its approval for the country's biggest bank by assets to buy up to 40 per cent in Islamic lender Boubyan Bank.

The new three-month approval period started on March 21, NBK said in statement on Kuwait's bourse website. NBK does not own any stake in Boubyan now, it added.

Boubyan Bank, which complies with Islam's ban on interest, competes with larger rival Kuwait Finance House and Kuwait International Bank.

It was not immediately clear why NBK had not gone ahead with the purchase by the original deadline but Kuwaiti lenders have been cautious with lending and investment since the Gulf Arab state had to rescue one of the country's biggest banks late last year.-Reuters