Al Baraka Banking Group, the Bahraini Islamic lender with operations in more than a dozen countries, posted a 2.3 per cent increase in second-quarter net profit, the bank said in a bourse filing on Sunday.

The bank, which has operations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, made a net attributable profit of $44.8 million for the three months ending June 30, compared with $43.8 million in the corresponding period of 2014, according to the statement.

Possible plans by the Indonesian banking regulator to ease foreign ownership restrictions for Islamic banks may help Al Baraka with its aim to enter Indonesia's Islamic banking sector by as early as 2016, chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif told Reuters by email in June.

Total assets stood at $24 billion at June 30, up 2.4 per cent from the end of December 31, 2014, the statement added. – Reuters