Business

Wednesday January 18, 2012

CIMB-Principal Islamic targets RM200m assets

By DALJIT DHESI
daljit@thestar.com.my


KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd is targeting at least RM200mil in total assets under management for the three new Dublin-based undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) for Islamic funds by year-end, said its chief executive Datuk Noripah Kamso.

She said CIMB-Principal Islamic, as an investment manager and master distributor of the funds, would commence the management of the funds by next month. The three equity UCITS funds comprised of the Islamic Global Emerging Markets Fund, the Islamic Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Fund and the Islamic Asean Equity Fund.

Noripah said this at a press conference after the launching of the establishment of the CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (Ireland) Public Ltd, the first Malaysian-based international Islamic funds platform domiciled in Dublin. It will act as an investment manager of a Dublin-based undertakings for the UCITS funds.

CIMB-Principal Islamic, a joint-venture between CIMB Group and US-based Principal Global Investors, had recently obtained the approval from the Central Bank of Ireland for the establishment of CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (Ireland).

CIMB-Principal Islamic's total assets under management as at Dec 31, 2011, stood at more than US$780mil (RM2.4bil).

The establishment of the new platform was officiated by the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, who is also the financial ambassador of Malaysian Islamic Financial Centre. Also present were Securities Commission of Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Principal Global Investors president and chief executive officer Jim McCaughan and CIMB Group group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.

Noripah added that these funds would eventually be registered and distributed in seven jurisdictions Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

According to Noripah, the idea of establishing a fund platform is conceived as an initiative to overcome the challenge to bring international and institutional monies into Malaysia for its tranformation into an international Islamic finance hub. The approval of the new funds range in Ireland, she said would help CIMB-Principal Islamic to have a visible track record to institutional and retail investors globally.

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