Nairobi, April 24 -- Equity Group acquired an extra 6.6 percent stake in its subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for Sh9.24 billion, underlining the lender's quest to increase the share of profits outside Kenya.

The Kenyan bank disclosed in its annual report last week that it acquired a 2.3 percent stake from minority owners of Equity BCDC in August last year for Sh740 million.

Equity also bought an additional 452,659 shares in the DR Congo unit for Sh8.5 billion through a rights issue, giving the bank a 4.3 percent stake.

DR Congo is one of the biggest countries on the continent by land mass and has more than 90 million people, making it appealing to ambitious banks in the neighbouring states looking for growth.

Kenyan...