Kochi: The Private Lord Krishna Bank (LKB) is planning to spread its wings overseas by opening a branch at Afghanistan and some third world countries, a top executive of the bank said.

The bank was awaiting approval to start the branch at Afghanistan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LKB, R M Nayak, told a press meet in Kochi last night (November 27). The bank also had ambitions to open branches in some third world countries, including Sudan and Mozambique, he said.

Nayak said the bank had registered an encouraging business growth during the first half of the current fiscal with its net worth going up to Rs 131.53 crore. The bank's net worth, which was Rs 117.65 crore as on September 30 last year, went up to Rs 119.28 crore by March this year and touched Rs 131.53 crore by September this year against the benchmark of Rs 100 crore fixed by Reserve Bank of India.

At present the bank has a total business more than Rs 2500 crore.

The net profit for the half year ending September 2003 stood at Rs 10.25 crore against Rs 9.19 crore for the corresponding half year of the previous year, which was an increase of Rs 1.06 crore.

PTI