THE FIRST Malaysian funds promoter has set up in the Irish financial services sector with the arrival of the CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management in Ireland, according to the Irish Funds Industry Association.
The Malaysian company is setting up a range of investment schemes that can operate throughout the European Union, authorised from Ireland.
Pat Lardner, chief executive of the association, welcomed the establishment of Irish funds or Ucits (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) by CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management.
Citing figures from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers saying that Ireland accounted for 20 per cent of Islamic finance outside of the Middle East, Mr Lardner said he hoped others would set up similar funds here.
Noripah Kamso, chief executive of the Malaysian company, said: “Ireland is right for us as we believe it will provide global flavour to our products and be the passport for international investors beyond Europe.”
Dublin was more cost-effective due to the company’s existing operations in Ireland, she said, and through the conventional funds operated by its shareholder, Principal Financial Group, in Dublin.
The Government has targeted Islamic finance as one of the key growth areas for the development of the financial services industry under plans to create 10,000 new jobs in the sector by 2016.
The funds association estimates that the value of funds under administration in Ireland reached €2 trillion recently, while Irish domiciled funds have also reached a record high, surpassing the €1 trillion mark for the first time.
Islamic finance applies Sharia, the moral code of the Islamic religion, to financial services. This prohibits charging interest and unethical investments.
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