Bahrain-based TAIB Bank has launched three new Islamic Investment Funds, two of which are the first of their kind in the world, stated a bank press release.
The new funds are the TAIB Islamic UK Equities Index Fund, the TAIB Islamic GCC Equities Index Fund and the TAIB Islamic Currency Fund. The new funds will be available to investors beginning October 27, 2003.
TAIB's Islamic Index version of the UK stock market will consist of 30 to 50 UK stocks whose underlying companies operate in compliance with Shariah law. The GCC Index Fund will consist of a basket of 20 to 30 Shariah-compliant stocks representing the stock markets of Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
An index is a basket of stocks representing a smaller version of an entire stock market. Investors buying these Index funds will actually be buying many different stocks simultaneously. These investments are excellent for investors who want broad holdings in multiple stocks in an Islamic fashion. Individual investors will need to obtain a fund prospectus from participating banks in order to invest.
“The first Index fund we are announcing is based on our Islamic Equity Index for the United Kingdom's stock market, and the second is based on our Islamic Equity Index for the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). We believe they are the first such Shariah-compliant index funds in the world,” said TAIB Executive Vice President, Jim Schlageck.
TAIB Bank is an international investment bank headquartered in Bahrain and listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. It conducts banking and brokerage activities in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, as well as the Gulf region.
According to Vice Chairman and CEO of TAIB Iqbal G. Mamdani, the bank's earlier Islamic fund, the equity-based TAIB Global Crescent Fund, had performed extremely well in 2003 and is giving investors a return of more than 23 percent. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
