Bahrain's Gulf Finance sets up $5 bln steel firm

DUBAI, July 23 (Reuters) - Bahrain's Gulf Finance House GFHB.BH said on Wednesday it would set up a $5 billion steel firm with partners to help meet growing demand for construction materials in the region.

HadeedMENA would have initial capacity of 8 million tonnes of steel per year for the next four years, Gulf Finance said in a statement, without clarifying whether the production would take place at one or more plants.

Other partners in the venture are Emirates International Investment Co, Khaleej Development Co, Q-Invest and First Energy Bank.

Gulf Finance operates according to Islamic law.

(For Reuters content on Islamic finance, click on ISLAMIC)

(Reporting by Daliah Merzaban; Editing by Simon Webb)