Qatar First Investment Bank (‘QFIB’) and Gulfmena Investments Limited (‘Gulfmena’) announced today the launch of TEBYAN Asset Management Limited (‘TEBYAN’), a new fully integrated, Shari’ah compliant asset management company offering an unrivalled range of Islamic investment products and services. After an initial and temporary offshore establishment, the new company will seek to be authorised and regulated by Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority.
TEBYAN’s launch closely follows QFIB’s strategic partnership with Gulfmena – announced in late 2010 – to form a total solutions platform which meets the emerging needs of the Islamic investment community under one roof. TEBYAN aims to tap into the growing Shari’ah asset management space and to cater to international and regional investors seeking traditional and alternative strategies. Its unique proposition of combining asset management with wealth management will bridge the gaps in today’s Islamic investment offering.
“The launch of TEBYAN is the result of a strong, significant partnership between QFIB & Gulfmena,” said Emad Mansour, CEO of QFIB. “Our intention with TEBYAN is to assume leadership of the Islamic asset management sector by constantly employing and combining the best in corporate practice, innovative investment tools and exceptional market knowledge, with the purity of Islamic Shari’ah rulings,” Mansour added.
TEBYAN will be managed by Gulfmena’s CEO Haissam Arabi and will be governed by its own Shari’ah Board chaired by Sheikh Dr. Ali Al-Quradaghi. TEBYAN will primarily serve Islamic institutions, family offices, large family money, UHNWIs and HNWIs whose assets are often allocated to MENA/GCC with some global investment allocations spread over different asset classes.
“TEBYAN’s launch fulfils our objective of offering an innovative and unique proposition to Islamic investors regionally and internationally” said Haissam Arabi, CEO of Gulfmena. “Gulfmena has extensive experience in the asset management space particularly in MENA assets classes which is vital to our natural clients, while QFIB has an exceptional network, a complementary product offering and a strong balance sheet committed to innovation —TEBYAN’s success will build on all these merits,” Arabi added.
As part of its objective to bridge gaps in today’s Islamic investment offering, TEBYAN will be launching the first of its kind New Silk Route long-only fund focusing primarily on the Arab-Indo-China region. “This product comes at a time when valuations in emerging markets are conducive to take advantage of, and to position portfolios in markets which will form the new economic axis of the future” Arabi concluded.