Mashreqbank is now offering its first ever Islamic investment fund. The Bank is opening the investment in association with The National Commercial Bank (NCB) of Saudi Arabia, the largest Islamic fund manager in the world.
The capital-secured fund will be available to investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 5-24. Meeting the stringent criteria established by NCB's Shariah Advisory Board, the fund has a three-year maturity period and is designed to appeal to risk adverse investors who wish to invest in accordance with Shariah principles.
The principle secured fund allows investors to participate in the positive returns of Al-Ahli Global Equity Index comprising of highly capitalized, blue chip companies which are diversified across regions as well as markets and are considered high growth potential.
The Shariah criteria exclude investment in prohibited industries, such as alcohol and cigarettes, as well as imposing restrictions on the financial ratios of the companies. Stocks comprising the index are reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Shariah Board and any stock that fails to meet any criteria is removed.
Founded in 1938, NCB is Saudi Arabia's first Saudi-owned bank and has grown into one the Kingdom's leading consumer banks with 260 branches, out of which 70 are exclusively Islamic. So far it has launched 26 investment funds with total assets of $6.6 billion, out of which 18 are fully Shariah-compliant with assets of $4.8 billion. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
