Shareholders of Ahli United Bank's (AUB) Kuwaiti unit have approved its planned conversion into a bank compliant with Islamic law, or sharia, the bank said on Tuesday.

AUB said in a statement posted to the Bahraini bourse that Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East (BKME) would start its sharia-compliant operations at the beginning of the second quarter, with a date for the completion of the conversion to be announced later.

Analysts have said the conversion would help the unit increase its market share in the Kuwaiti banking market.

The bank, in which AUB owns about 75 per cent, will also be renamed to Ahli United Bank.-Reuters