Islamic fund promoter making its Ireland debut
The Irish fund industry has welcomed its first Malaysian fund promoter guest CIMB-Principal Islamic, which has listed its Ucits fund range in Dublin.
The chief executive of CIMB-Principal Islamic Noripah Kamso said: “Branching out to Ireland internationalises our presence, and we see our funds here as a passport for us to access investors beyond Europe.”
She added that domiciling the funds in Dublin is cost-efficient due to arrangements between the Irish government and the asset management company.
Pat Lardner, chief executive of the Irish Funds Industry Association, said: “We welcome the innovative offerings made available by CIMB-Principal Islamic, and we hope more institutions will follow suit.”
Islamic finance has been identified as a key growth driver for the financial services sector by the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
According to PwC, Ireland accounts for 20 per cent of Islamic finance outside the Middle East, more than any other European countries. The country attracted twice more Ucits fund inflows than the rest of the Europe combined in 2011.