KHARTOUM, 4 September 2007 — Al-Salam Bank of Sudan has launched the Al-Salam First Property Fund with a capital of 60 million. The move is aimed at opening up investment opportunity in Sudan’s real estate sector.
The fund is a unique mechanism for individual and corporate investors seeking to achieve medium term capital growth through investment in the Sudanese real estate sector in accordance with the Shariah- compliant lease system of “Ijara”.
Minimum subscription has been pegged at $5,000, which has a projected annual leasing dividend of 7 percent. Initial public offering (IPO) of the fund will start on Sept. 1, 2007 for individuals and corporate bodies in Sudan and all Gulf states.
The fund will last for four calendar years beginning from the date of closing the subscription and ending on the date of issuing its liquidation notice, but the duration is extendable to a maximum additional period of one calendar year.
The fund’s transactions, including investments and units, will be in US dollars but subscriptions by clients can be in any other major international currencies or in the Sudan dinar as per the current exchange rate at the time of subscribing for shares at the Al-Salam Bank.
Those who want to convert their monies into currencies other than those acceptable to the fund will bear the risk of currency fluctuation of those currencies at the time of the conversion, the bank warned.
Commenting on the IPO, Mohammed Ali Al-Abbar, board chairman of Al-Salam Bank, said: “The bank decided to set up the Al-Salam First Property Fund to provide for its clients investment opportunities in the Sudanese real estate market. With a capital of $60 million, the fund is being managed by the bank itself in its capacity as the employee, while investors play the role of employer in a Shariah-compliant transaction that is based on the principle of “Ijara” (employment)”.
The Al-Salam First Property Fund has lined up a number of real estate projects including the Al-Sinad Properties, presidential villas, Saria Properties, Yasmeen Residence, among others.
