UPDATE 2-Kuwait's CBK makes offer for Syria's Cham Bank stake

(Adds details, more quotes, sukuk)

By Rania El Gamal

KUWAIT, May 7 (Reuters) - Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBKK.KW) (CBK) offered to boost its stake in Syria's Cham Bank by buying Investment Dar's (TIDK.KW) shares, officials at the two Kuwaiti firms said, as Damascus opens up its banking industry further.

Gulf lenders, riding economies fuelled by petrodollars, have been trying to benefit from what analysts consider an undervalued bank sector as Syria's economy slowly opens to foreign investment.

Investment Dar -- an Islamic investment firm which owns half of British luxury car maker Aston Martin -- confirmed on Wednesday the offer for the Syrian sharia-compliant lender, which operates according to Islamic laws banning interest.

"We have an offer (from CBK) yes... but there's no price or details yet," Executive Vice President Amr Abou El-Seoud told Reuters on the sidelines of a shareholder meeting.

"Now it is at the studying stage. I expect within two weeks to reach a ground we can decide on."

A CBK official confirmed the offer but declined any further comment. Kuwait's fourth-largest lender by market value said in March it plans to raise its stake in Cham Bank to 30 percent from 10 percent.

CBK has already boosted its stake to 27 percent by buying shares from Syrian and Kuwaiti investors, according to Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai.

EXPANSION

Like other Gulf lenders, Commercial Bank has been trying to expand in the Middle East. It made an offer for Egyptian lender Al Watany Bank (WATA.CA) but was beaten by National Bank of Kuwait (NBKK.KW).

NBK is among the flock of lenders keen to burst into the Syrian, saying it wants to set up a joint venture in the country, while Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital SHUA.DU said in December it was in talks with United Arab Emirates firms to set up a bank there.

CBK Chairman Abdul-Majeed al-Shatti told Reuters last month the bank was also in talks to buy a significant stake in an unidentified Iraqi lender.

In an unsourced report on Sunday, the newspaper said that Investment Dar had agreed to sell its 12.5 percent stake in Cham to CBK, which offered 700 lira ($15.32) per share.

"These are all speculation. There's still no fixed price nor details," Abou El-Seoud said on Wednesday, declining to give the size of the deal.