Islamic Bank of Thailand to lift capital base by B2-3bn.

Byline: Darana Chudasri

Jan. 25--The Islamic Bank of Thailand plans to raise capital by between two billion and three billion baht to help support loan growth this year.

The bank, which had outstanding loans of seven billion baht at the end of 2006, expects its portfolio to rise to 22 billion by the end of this year. The bank posted growth of 700 percent last year.

Dheerasak Suwannayos, the bank chairman and acting president, said the four-year-old bank expected to break even and turn a profit this year.

"We plan to increase our capital by two billion to three billion baht from one billion now and aim for aggressive growth throughout the …