06 June 2011

Muscat, Oman, June 06, 2011, Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. (“Rasmala”) in partnership with the Oman Chamber of Commerce, held today a fixed income seminar at the Ministry of Economy’s auditorium.

The event highlighted the compelling investment opportunities in the fixed income space in the GCC.

“At this point in time, we see a good buying opportunity in fixed income instruments issued by GCC domiciled corporates, GCC governments, and GCC governmental related entities due to the relatively high yield available on these securities compared to cash deposits and other similarly rated fixed income securities available from other issuers around the world. Fixed income securities should represent some portion of almost any investor’s portfolio since they can provide regular income and can reduce overall portfolio risk when correctly added to a portfolio of risky assets like public and private equity and real estate,” commented Mr. Eric Swats, Head of Asset Management at Rasmala.

Mr. Jamil Ali Sultan, Vice Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. Anwar Abu Sbaitan, CEO of Rasmala, also shared views on the MENA region’s outlook and agreed that, with greater marketing efforts abroad, the Omani securities markets could be more appealing to regional and institutional investors.

The seminar provided a platform for discussion and networking which included attendance by notable officials and industry heads.

Rasmala has a proven track record in fixed income, having launched one of the first regionally focused Fixed Income funds investing in bonds and Sukuk in addition to managing several Fixed Income discretionary portfolios. The Rasmala GCC Fixed Income Fund was launched in March 2009 and has achieved an annualized return of over 14% to date. The Fund was the recipient of the Fixed Income Fund of the Year at the MENA Fund Manager Performance Awards, Dubai in 2009.