BEIRUT - The Qatar Investment Authority, or QIA, has acquired shares in Al Rayan Bank last year for 191 million Qatari riyals ($52.5 million), Doha-based Al Arab daily reports Thursday citing the bank's financial statements.

This is part of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund's plan to acquire 10% of the country's largest shariah-compliant bank, the paper reports, adding that it couldn't know whether the shares bought in 2009 cover the full 10%-stake QIA pledged to acquire.

The acquisition was carried out through the local bourse, the daily reports citing the bank also known as Masraf Al Rayan.