Malaysia's ASM Investments, a subsidiary of statutory board Majlis Amanah Rakyat or The Council for Indigenous People, will be a fully Shari'ah compliant unit trust manager by 2013.
ASMI currently holds seven conventional and seven Shari'ah compliant funds. An ASMI spokesperson told The Islamic Globe that the conversion is in line with the company's 2011 to 2015 Transformation Plan under its parent MARA, the agency that serves the interests of the largely Muslim indigenous Malay population.
ASMI CEO, Nik Mohamed Zaki Nik Yusoff [pictured], said that ASMI is positioning itself to exploit the growth potential in the Shari'ah compliant sector, explaining that there are currently only 165 Shari'ah compliant funds in Malaysia as opposed to 601 conventional funds.
ASMI's latest Islamic offering, Syariah Capital Protected Sector Linked Fund will invest up to 92% of its NAV in Islamic Negotiable Instruments of Deposits with the rest invested in equities that support activities under the government's National Key Economic Areas. Nik Yusoff also expects the fund to invest in GLCs including Petronas Chemical, Malaysian Sugar Manufacturing, Gas Malaysia and Felda Global Ventures, one of the world's largest palm oil producers.
Minimum investment for the closed-ended three-year 500m-unit fund is RM1000 ($315) at RM0.50 ($0.16) per unit. The subscription period ends January 12, 2012. ASMI expects returns up to 6% per annum.
© The Islamic Globe 2011
