KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (Ireland) Plc has obtained approval from the Central Bank of Ireland to launch its Global Sukuk UCITS Fund, Malaysia’s first global sukuk fund under the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) funds structure. CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd (CIMB-Principal Islamic) in a statement said it would act as the investment manager and master distributor of the fund. “The fund reaffirms CIMB-Principal's continuous support towards developing Malaysia as a hub for Islamic finance products at the global stage,” it said. CIMB-Principal Islamic chief executive officer Datin Seri Norashikin Mohd Kassim said the fund would appeal to investors looking for ethical investments with stable returns in major currencies by tapping into the sukuk of leading issuers, predominantly sovereign and sovereign-related credits in the Middle East and Asia. “We believe sukuk offers superior risk-adjusted returns and diversification benefits to investors due to the lower volatility and lower correlation to conventional equities and fixed income,” she said, adding that CIMB-Principal Islamic expected strong demand for the Global Sukuk UCITS Fund given the current volatile equity markets.

Source: The Star September 18, 2016 23:53 UTC