Bahrain-based United Gulf Bank (UGB), the investment banking unit of Kuwait Projects Co (Kipco), said on Sunday it has sold its stake in Tunis International to Burgan Bank for $120 million.   

UGB said in a statement to Bahrain's stock exchange that it made a profit of $49 million before expenses from the sale. The bank had acquired a 77 percent stake in Tunis International in 1997, according to its website.   

Kuwaiti investment firms have been badly hit by the financial crisis and some have said they would sell down international assets, but Kipco has posted modest profits throughout 2009.   

UGB, which has $2.3 billion in assets, held investor meetings in February to potentially issue a bond which it had to postpone due to weak market conditions at the time, according to market sources. -Reuters