The launch of the CIMB-Principal Islamic Irish Ucits fund range follows the establishment of CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (Ireland), the first Malaysian-based international Islamic funds platform domiciled in Dublin.
Under the Ucits platform, CIMB has registered three funds – Islamic Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Islamic Asia Pacific ex-Japan Equity Fund and Islamic ASEAN Equity Fund. The funds will be registered and offered to investors in seven jurisdictions – the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
Pat Lardner, chief executive of the Irish Funds Industry Association, welcomed the new company. He also pointed to figures from PWC which revealed that Ireland accounts for 20% of Islamic Finance outside of the Middle East, making it the top European destination for Islamic fund business.
“As Islamic finance is one of the focus areas in the international financial services sector targeted for growth by the government, we welcome the innovative offerings made available by CIMB-Principal Islamic, and we hope others will follow the example of CIMB-Principal Islamic,” said Lardner.
