1.             AmanahRaya Investment Bank Ltd (ARIBL) and Kuwait Finance House (Labuan) Bhd will set up a US$200mil (RM696mil) Islamic Real Estate Fund called Al-NIBRAS to tap into the lucrative property and infrastructure sector.  Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd managing director K. Salman Younis said:

• the fund would invest in properties in Malaysia and markets such as Singapore, Indonesia and China. 

• the bulk of the investment would be from properties in Malaysia. 

• The fund to purchase Syariah-compliant properties and the rental would act as an income for the fund. 

• other investment structures for the fund could include sale and leaseback opportunities, underwriting work for real estate projects, or investing in projects that were in infancy stage.  “For instance the current owners of the completed property can sell the property to the fund and lease back for a number of years,” he said, adding that Salman said the internal rate of return (IRR) from the fund could range from 12% to 20% depending on real estate market prices.  

2.             AmanahRaya Investment Bank Ltd director Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil said the parties were conducting due diligence and would be able to make initial investments next month. The scheme(s) might involve the following:

• the two banks would be initial subscribers to the fund, but there would be a possibility to “sell down” to other institutional investors. 

• a possibility that properties from the Al-NIBRAS fund could be disposed into the AmanahRaya real estate investment trust (REIT) on fair valuation, adding this would allow a ready pool of assets ready for injection (into REITS). (17/7/07-The Star Malaysia)

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