(Seychelles News Agency) - Representatives from Al Salam Bank presented a check of over $37,000 (SCR 500,000) to President Danny Faure of Seychelles on Tuesday for a donation towards the children’s fund.

Al Salam Bank is an Arabic bank based in Bahrain that took over the former Bank of Muscat International Offshore, BMIO, in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, in May last year.

“It is important for Al Salam Bank to serve the community. We chose the children fund as this investment will help in the development of young people in Seychelles,” said Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, the bank’s chair.

She also added that it is important for the name of Al Salam Bank to be recognised within the community as “community service is a very important part of being in the banking sector.”

During her courtesy call to Faure at State House in Victoria, the capital, the bank’s chair discussed the possibilities of investing in the residential sector of Seychelles.

Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa discussed the possibilities of investing in the residential sector of Seychelles in her meeting with the president. (Thomas Meriton, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

“We are hoping that this partnership develops so that we can make investments in Seychelles, especially in the housing sector,” she said.

Speaking to the press in Creole, which she learned from her family's Seychellois nanny, Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa said the bank is ready to start investing immediately and “is waiting for the plans of the president on two projects.”

Further investments can be made in the tourism industry, the main pillar of the island nation’s economy. Commerce is another area of interest.

Talking about Al Salam Bank - Seychelles, Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa said they “hope that the number of local clients will increase and more Seychellois will open an account with [the bank].”

“We are at the forefront of technology and when it comes to customer service, we offer all the products that are available in other banks, such as loans,” she said, adding that they look forward to working with the government and Seychellois.

Al Salam Bank - Seychelles currently employs 18 Seychellois.