Lebanon's Bank Audi said it had won approval to open a subsidiary deposit bank in Turkey with share capital of $300 million.

Audi, which already operates in several countries in the Mena, said its decision to expand into Turkey came as Turkish-Arab trade worth billions of dollars continued to expand.

'Our new subsidiary will particularly target the Turkish fast growing middle corporate segment, which offers a large potential for financial services,' Audi said in a statement issued late on Friday.

'In parallel, we will explore the possibility to develop retail products.'

Last week Audi posted a 7.1 per cent rise in nine-month net profit to $271 million, despite a sharp fall in Lebanon's economic growth and a rise in provisions for losses in Egypt and Syria.

It said the medium-term outlook for countries hit by the wave of Arab unrest this year was 'much brighter', and it would continue its policy of regional expansion.-Reuters