Bahrain Financial Harbour signs lease agreement with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ

The tenancy agreement was finalised by Mr. Salwan Uchi, Marketing Director of Bahrain Financial Harbour Holding Company (BFHHC) and Mr. Norihiko Kato, Regional Head of the Middle East, BTMU.

As per the terms of the agreement, BTMU will occupy the entire 26th floor of the West Tower of BFH's Financial Centre, covering an area of over 1000sq m.

Conceived to enhance Bahrain's reputation as the financial capital of the Middle East, BFH's tenant mix reveals that this $3bn integrated hi-tech financial services development is truly developing into a national project that is a model for the future.

Welcoming the presence of Japan's leading bank at BFH, Mr. Uchi said,

"The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd is an institution that has a rich heritage stretching back 90 years. As one of Japan's leading banks and an emerging player on the global front with a strong worldwide network, BTMU's decision to use BFH as a platform for its regional operations marks a major step forward for us. The growing list of international financial institutions that are opting for BFH as their regional base reflects the success of our initiatives to develop the Financial Centre into a world class environment for international finance and banking."

This was an opinion seconded by Mr. Kato, "We have an extensive international network of branches in all major financial centres of the world and we are confident that this landmark development will provide the ideal platform to catalyse our operations in the Middle East region. Bahrain, with its young and well-educated population, is a rapidly developing capital market and the financial hub of the region and we are highly optimistic about our future prospects here."

Based in Tokyo, BTMU is the premier commercial banking arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), a highly diversified financial group that is Japan's largest financial services company measured by assets.

With a capital of ¥996.9bn, BTMU offers a wide array of financial products and services to businesses, governments and private individuals. As of March 31, 2008, the bank had 786 domestic branches and 75 overseas branches.