Bahrain-based United Gulf Bank, the investment banking unit of Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco), has got Kuwaiti central bank approval to acquire a 20 percent stake in Burgan Bank.

The approval is valid for three months, and UGB is still awaiting Bahraini central bank's nod to complete the acquisition, UGB said in a statement on the Kuwaiti bourse website on Thursday.

Last month, Burgan, the commercial banking arm of Kipco, bought UGB's 77 per cent stake in Tunis International for $120 million.

Kipco, Kuwait's biggest investment firm, owns stakes in 60 companies and operates in 26 countries.

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.-Reuters