Istanbul-based participation bank Kuveyt Türk said yesterday that its net profits rose 24.4 percent in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year. Kuveyt Türk's net profits rose to TL 256 million ($85 million), the bank said in a statement. Its total assets reached TL 44.1 billion, up 4.9 percent since the end of 2015. Meanwhile, shareholder equity reached TL 3.7 billion, an increase of 8 percent."Adding 30 new branch offices to our network [in Turkey] throughout 2016 made us the most widespread bank [in the country]," Ufuk Uyan, CEO of the bank, said in a statement. "We aim to become one of the top three banks, opening the highest number of branch offices in the banking sector." Kuveyt Türk ranked first among participation banks in Turkey in 2015, according to the statement."Our bank is always supporting the players in the real sector by supporting individual and corporate investors with direct financing support or joint ventures in line with our interest-free banking principle," said Uyan.