Mashreqbank Launches Islamic Scheme

Mashreqbank, which has successfully sold 60 new investment products in the UAE during the last 18 months, has now come out with its first Islamic investment fund, jointly with National Commercial Bank (NCB) of Saudi Arabia.

These products will be available in units of $5,000 and multiples of the same thereof. This is considered to be the first Islamic product to be mass-sold in this market by any bank in the UAE.

According to Mashreqbank officials, the funds will be invested in the U.S., Europe and Japan roughly in the ratio of 35 per cent, 30 per cent, and 35 per cent.

The new fund will be capital-secured and will be available to investors in the UAE from November 5 to 24. It is likely to be the first in line of Islamic investment products to be launched by Mashreqbank covering a variety of Shariah-compliant asset classes.

The fund, which meets the stringent criteria established by NCB's Sharia Advisory Board, has a three-year maturity period and is designed to appeal to risk averse investors who wish to invest in accordance with Sharia principles.

The CEO of Mashreqbank, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair said: "Given the difficult market conditions, we have continued our focus on the preservation of our investor's capital, and I am pleased to announce our first secured Islamic product."

Nabeel Waheed, head of treasury and capital markets at Mashreqbank, said his bank selected NCB because of the high reputation of its Sharia Advisory Board and its unblemished track record for managing principle secured funds of this type.

Nassif Aoun, head of NCB's investment services division acknowledged that Mashreqbank has established a track record with its customers for launching innovative and highly successful capital guaranteed investment products across a variety of asset classes.