MUSCAT – Meethaq Islamic Banking, a leading Islamic financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman, has launched the Meethaq Equity Fund, a Sharia-Compliant Equity Fund, in partnership with Bank Muscat’s Asset Management Unit. The Fund is designed to capitalise on the growing potential of the economies in the Sultanate and GCC, providing investors with a gateway to invest in the fast-growing equity markets.
The initial public offering for the Meethaq Equity Fund will open on August 4 and will run till August 15, 2024. The initial offer price for the Fund will be OMR 1.010 per unit, including issuance costs. The Meethaq Equity Fund offers daily liquidity with no minimum holding period. Investors can subscribe to the Fund with a minimum subscription amount of OMR 50. The Fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV) will be published daily on the websites of Meethaq Islamic Banking, Bank Muscat, and on Muscat Stock Exchange, allowing investors to track the value of their investments daily. Meethaq Islamic Banking and Bank Muscat customers who wish to subscribe to the Fund during the initial public offering can download the subscription form from the respective websites (www.meethaq.om/ www.bankmuscat.com) and submit it to the nearest Meethaq or Bank Muscat branch. Bank Muscat customers can also subscribe to the Fund through the Internet Banking platform of Bank Muscat. Interested investors may contact the Fund Management team via email at [email protected].
Referring to the launch of the Fund, Khalifa Abdullah Al Hatmi, Deputy General Manager, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, Bank Muscat said: “The Meethaq Equity Fund offers an attractive investment option for investors to benefit from the investment expertise of Bank Muscat’s Asset Management and the robust Sharia governance of Meethaq Islamic Banking. Having demonstrated our expertise in developing and managing investor-centric products designed to provide the best investor experience, we are confident that the Meethaq Equity Fund will meet investors’ expectations.”
Ali Ahmed Al Lawati, Assistant General Manager, Meethaq Corporate Banking added: “We are delighted to offer the Meethaq Equity Fund to investors. The Sultanate’s equity markets particularly and GCC equity markets generally offer an attractive investment proposition for medium to long-term investors. The Fund will provide investors an opportunity to diversify their investments and benefit from growth in the regional markets. Additionally, this offering is in line with Meethaq’s objective to introduce more sophisticated products to meet the growing demand of Islamic structured solutions.”
The objective of the Meethaq Equity Fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation and dividend distributions by primarily investing in a portfolio of sharia-compliant stocks listed in the GCC region. The Fund is an open-ended fund registered under the jurisdiction of the Financial Services Authority, Sultanate of Oman.
Bank Muscat’s Asset Management team will be the Investment Manager of the Fund, being the largest asset manager in the Sultanate and one of the most experienced asset managers in the GCC region. The team has a proven track record of managing GCC equities since 1993 across multiple funds and strategies including Sharia-focused investments. For reference, Bank Muscat Oryx Fund, the flagship GCC equity fund, managed by the team, has delivered consistent performance across all periods as highlighted below:
Bank Muscat Oryx Fund’s performance track record:
| Period | Bank Muscat Oryx Fund | S&P GCC Composite Index | Outperformance |
| 2023 | 29.2% | 6.2% | 23.0% |
| Past 3 Years | 22.6% p.a. | 9.0% p.a. | 13.6% p.a. |
| Past 10 Years | 11.1% p.a. | 2.2% p.a | 8.9% p.a. |
Note: Return over 1-year period is annualised, Performance as on December 31, 2023
Data source: Bloomberg
The Sharia Supervisory Board of Meethaq Islamic Banking has confirmed the Fund’s compliance with Sharia Principles. Meethaq, with an experience of over 10 years, has extensive sharia compliant product offerings and the Fund complements the diverse financial solutions presented by Meethaq.
The Islamic banking sector in Oman has witnessed strong growth, with assets growing at an annualised growth of 11 percent over the past 5 years, compared to an annualised growth of 3.5 percent for the conventional banking sector over the same period. Supported by this rapid growth, the share of Sharia focused banking assets constitutes more than 20 percent of the total banking assets in Oman, corroborating higher adoption and demand for Sharia compliant investment solutions, thus, providing an ample opportunity for Sharia focused investments in Oman. Sharia compliant funds also benefit from catering to all investors.
The Prospectus of Meethaq Equity Fund is available on www.meethaq.om and www.bankmuscat.com and it covers the applicable terms and conditions and key risk factors. It should be noted that the fund’s returns are subjected to market performance. Interested investors are advised to refer to the Prospectus for further details.
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