UTI International, a subsidiary of India's UTI Asset Management Company, plans to launch another offshore Shariah-compliant fund for retail and
institutional investors based in the UAE and the Gulf, says a media report.
UTI International is currently the only Indian fund house having an offshore Shariah fund which is based out of Kuwait and launched with a Kuwaiti counterparty.
"We'll be launching another Shariah fund in the next three months, as we are getting tremendous interest in such investment products from retail as well as institutional investors from this region.
There is huge demand for Shariah-complaint products,which needs to be tapped," CEO UTI International Tarun Ghulati told Emirates Business newspaper.
"We are looking for a strategic partner and have formalised the structure," Ghulati told the newspaper.
UTI International is responsible for all international business activities of its parent company UTI Asset Management Company, and is registered as a foreign institutional investor
(FII) in India with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Globally, UTI International manages close to USD 700 million of assets and the bulk of the money managed is largely institutional.
"As much as 70 per cent of our global business comes from the Middle East at the moment, with institutional investors(comprising banking institutions, HNWIs, family offices, etc.)
consisting a large chunk of investors," he said.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the wider Middle East region, UTI International markets and distributes its offshore funds for both retail as well as institutional investors looking for investment opportunities in India, while fund management is done onshore in India.
However, Ghulati said the firm has plans to manage funds offshore as well if there is a demand for that.
He added that UTI International's strength lies in the India growth story.
"While the global market saw turmoil last year, green shoots are now visible particularly in the emerging markets.
We're seeing growing preference to invest in India.
A larger allocation of investments that were going into several emerging markets are now being directed to India," he said.
UTI International is currently managing almost nine offshore funds in the GCC.
One of them is the India fund - a diversified equity fund incorporated in Mauritius that invests in Indian equity and equity-linked securities listed on an Indian stock exchange.
The fund was launched by Merrill Lynch in 1986 and is the oldest fund in the world for anybody willing to invest in India, he said.