(openPR) - LONDON, September 30, 2006 – Michael Gassner Consultancy Ltd. has been retained as the Marketing, Public Relation and Sales Strategy Advisor for the first GCC open-ended Sukuk fund, Sanad Sukuk Fund, by Encore Management S.A., the fund’s sponsor.
Michael Saleh Gassner, Managing Director of Michael Gassner Consultancy Ltd., comments on the assignment, “For too long Muslims could not achieve a proper diversified investment strategy, income was associated with illiquidity, and proper goal-based asset allocation could not be achieved. This has now changed”, Gassner concludes, “We will do our best to explain and communicate this important development to the Islamic finance industry.”
The Sanad Sukuk Fund will be launched before year end and targets both individual and institutional investors. The fund seeks to partner with retail banks—in particular those dedicated to serving Muslim customers—as well as other investing institutions.
Encore Management S.A., Geneva, is setting up the fund management company as wholly owned subsidiary in the Cayman Islands. John A. Sandwick, CEO of Encore Management S.A., says about the assignment: “We wanted to have a substitute for bond investments for our own Saudi clients, as none was available. The decision was taken to create the vehicle we needed ourselves. With Michael Gassner we found the right support to communicate our product to the Islamic finance industry.”
An important effect of the fund’s launch will be the impact on Sukuk market activity. In all of 2005 there were only about $60 million in GCC-style Sukuk secondary market trades, a tiny fraction of the estimated $15 billion of Sukuk that were outstanding at the end of last year. With the introduction of the Sanad Sukuk Fund—targeted to reach at least in the $100 million or more in size—secondary market trading should substantially increase. Economists the world over point out that increased market trading and liquidity of all securities is a core component of economic development, fostering increased issuance of securities and thereby contributing to economic growth.
Note to Editors:
Sukuk , the plural of the Arabic word Sakk, means “certificate” or sometimes “credit note.” It is also the root for the English word “cheque.” Sukuk replace interest income with rent or profits; they are therefore the alternative for Muslims seeking a stable income complying with their faith. Sukuk finance real economic activities and, depending on the underlying structure, they are tradable at market value from the Islamic perspective. Secondary market trading is still weak in the GCC region, as Sukuk are relatively new. Significant new Sukuk issuance has only recently increased, while near-term expected new issuance is expected to increase dramatically. Japan, China and Indonesia are among many market entrants expected to enter the Sukuk market in 2007, while at least 100 or more companies based in the Arab world are believed to be readying new Sukuk issues.
Issued on behalf of Sanad Investment Co. Ltd. For further press information please contact:
Michael Gassner Consultancy Ltd.
68 Lombard Street
London, EC3V 9LJ, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 868 1717
Fax: +44 207 868 1817 www.islamicfinance.de
About Sanad Investment Co. Ltd.
Sanad Investment Co. Ltd.—or the Sanad Sukuk Fund—is the world’s first GCC-oriented Sukuk fund in the world. It will provide both stable income and liquidity for Muslim investors. It closes the significant gap for Muslim investors in their asset allocation by finally providing a bond-like investment vehicle that is fully sharia compliant. All investments made by the Sanad Sukuk Fund will be in not less than 75% sharia-compliant Sukuk and regional credit syndications, predominantly in the GCC countries. Expanding the Sukuk market by creating a Sukuk fund directly leads to increased economic development in the GCC region. The fund is being domiciled in the Cayman Islands, as is its manager Encore Fund Management Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore Management S.A. in Geneva, Switzerland. The Sanad Sukuk Fund targets institutional and individual investors of all kinds. The fund’s website - www.sanadfund.com - will be launched alongside the fund itself
ABOUT ENCORE MANAGEMENT S.A.
Encore Management S.A. was founded in 1998 to serve private clients in the management of their family long-term savings, whether through portfolio investments, private equity, or real estate. The firm has established deep institutional relationships in Switzerland, in particular working in partnership with UBS S.A., the world’s largest asset management bank. Encore’s principles are bankers of long standing in the Swiss private banking and asset management businesses. The company remains very active in the Islamic banking space, and has frequently promoted increased transparency and sharia-compliant securities development through conferences and both print and electronic media. Encore’s wholly owned subsidiary—Encore Fund Management Co. Ltd.—was created to manage the new Sanad Sukuk Fund, as well as other future Islamic strategy portfolios.
About MICHAEL GASSNER CONSULTANCY Ltd.
Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Michael Gassner Consultancy Ltd. is a leading advisor for Islamic banking & finance. The work is focussed on publishing, training and marketing advice. Structuring and strategy consulting is done via partner firms. The firm organises the Annual Islamic Wealth Management Event in Geneva, created a major knowledge resource in the web and publishes the free of charge newsletter “IslamicFinance.de – Executive News”, which is read widely all over the Islamic finance community.
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