Blog Archives
Why Develop Local Alternatives for Regional Investors?
At Rasmala, we believe that developing local investment alternatives is essential to empowering regional investors and fostering sustainable economic growth.
What really drives long-term success?
🎥 What really drives long-term success? 🎥
Some say it’s strategy. Others say it’s timing, talent, or even luck.
At Rasmala, 25 years of investing across markets and cycles have taught us that true success doesn’t come from just one thing, but from a combination of enduring principles, decisive leadership, and trusted relationships.
In the first video of our new series exploring the moments and mindsets that shaped us, we ask:
👉 What has been critical to Rasmala’s success?
It’s a short watch but it says a lot about what’s kept us going and what still drives us today.
Rasmala Commitments to Real Estate and Private Equity Funds Cross USD 500 Million in 2025
Leading regional investment manager aims to capitalise on opportunities in alternatives markets
28 May 2025, Dubai, UAE – Rasmala Investment Bank Limited (“Rasmala”) continues its successful start to the year by increasing its clients’ commitments to international real estate and private equity funds, now exceeding USD 500 million. This allocation targets opportunities in private markets, primarily in the USA, with additional allocations to Europe and the MENA region.
Answering the demand of regional investors to diversify sources of income and capital growth, Rasmala has positioned itself as a leading gateway for international investments in partnership with top-tier investment managers. “This outsized increase of capital commitments to international private markets demonstrates investor confidence in our execution capabilities outside of our home market,” said Ali Taqi, CFA, newly appointed Deputy CEO of Rasmala. “In an increasingly challenging regulatory environment, effectively deploying capital across borders has become as important as selecting the right investment strategies.”
Whilst most commitments were made to open-ended and closed-ended real estate funds, allocation to private equity funds was also significant, demonstrating investor appetite to deploy capital in strategies that can generate superior returns over extended investment horizons.
Capital commitments were executed through a Rasmala Shariah feeder solution, which allows Shariah-compliant investors to deploy capital in international markets and access institutional-quality investment strategies while complementing the firm’s in-house investment management capabilities.
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About Rasmala: Rasmala is an independent provider and manager of alternative and Shariah-compliant investment products serving Gulf-based investors, including pension funds, family offices, corporates, endowments, and financial institutions.
Rasmala Investment Bank Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rasmala Investment Holdings (DIFC) Limited, based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”). It is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). Rasmala products or services are only made available to customers who Rasmala is satisfied meet the regulatory criteria to be a ”Professional Client” or “Market Counterparty”, as defined by the DFSA.
Rasmala Update – Covid-19 – Message from our CEO
Dear Clients & Friends,
I hope this message finds you and your family safe and healthy.
We wanted to share with you our efforts related to coronavirus (COVID-19) and to let you know the actions we are taking in response to this public health emergency.
Rasmala has activated its business continuity and COVID-19 emergency response plans. We have a comprehensive response framework and action plan to deal with this situation. The first and most important action is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and clients. We have already taken steps to shift the majority of our staff to home working and all staff travel remains suspended until further notice.
We are closely monitoring all the latest advice and guidance from the World Health Organisation, Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom and the UAE Ministry of Health as part of our efforts to restrict the spread of the virus.
Rasmala’s action plan is designed to maintain full service levels and operational capability for our clients and partners in the event of disruption. We remain committed to supporting you throughout this challenging time and will continue to update you regularly as we work ahead.
Thank you for your trust and support.
Yours sincerely,
Zak Hydari
Group Chief Executive
ALERT- Beware of Cloning Scam and Fraudulent Websites
Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. (RIBL) is aware of the existence of certain entities or persons that are conducting a financial scam by impersonating RIBL by using the name “RASMALA,” “RASMALA Islamic European Investment Bank” and “Rasmala Bank” on a fake website www.rasmalabank.org, via the twitter handle “@rasmalabank” and email address support@rasmalabank.com and email handle “@rasmalabank.com”. The fake website contains material and information showing a clear intent to target and impersonate RIBL. The persons behind the scam are attempting to solicit money transfers from potential investors using incentives such as a “Welcome Bonus.” Please note that the above mentioned website, email and twitter accounts are not related in any way to RIBL, and that you should exercise extreme caution if approached by anyone using these addresses in their communication with you. If you receive any communication from the above sources, we request that you report them to us at info@rasmala.com.
Eyes on MENA Equity Markets – 1H2018 Market Commentary
Market View
During 1H2018, FTSE Russell (“FTSE”) and MSCI made the decision to upgrade Saudi Arabia to Emerging Market status with an estimated weight of 2.7% and 2.6% respectively. This move is expected to attract over US$ 50 billion into Saudi equities with implementation spread throughout 2019.
Another key event in Saudi Arabia which we are closely monitoring is the potential IPO of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Saudi Aramco” or “Company”). It has been reported that progress on this IPO has been stalled due to concerns surrounding the valuation of the Company, as well as minority shareholder rights, corporate governance, the politics that are involved in setting oil prices globally and other legal and compliance challenges. Some key executives at the Company who we believe have been working on this IPO have recently been sidelined or have left the Company, which includes their CFO who has been with the Company for over 30 years. This has heightened concerns about the IPO especially at such an early stage in the process. We believe that this could be yet another game-changer, a listing that is expected to boost Saudi Arabia’s weight alone to ~4.5% in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, but that is yet to be seen whether it goes through not to mention that the calculations are rather preliminary.
Kuwaiti equities are expected to attract US$ 800 million in two equal tranches slated for September and December 2018 as the country was upgraded to the FTSE Emerging Markets Index. More importantly, in its latest review (June 2018), MSCI added Kuwait to their watchlist for a potential inclusion in its MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Taking into consideration the FTSE upgrade and the overlap between MSCI and FTSE when it comes to prerequisites leading to such an upgrade, it is expected that MSCI will upgrade Kuwait in June 2019 with implementation in June 2020.
Given the current market capitalization levels, it is estimated that Kuwait will witness US$ 900 million of inflows.
Furthermore, we remain bullish on Kuwait from a fundamental point of view given the country’s strong fiscal position (lowest fiscal breakeven oil price in GCC at US$ 45 pb) and large reserves. The Kuwaiti Banking sector is overprovisioned compared to its GCC counterparts with the banks being well positioned to benefit from government spending on infrastructure projects. Additionally; retail spending remains strong driven by high disposable income and population growth.
Dubai has reacted to the recent economic slowdown by introducing new measures aimed at improving the Emirate’s economic competitiveness. The Dubai government has cut red tape for corporates and has decided to release AED 14 billion, that they currently hold as security against companies’ expatriate employees, back to the companies, resulting in a much-needed liquidity injection to the SME’s. Abu Dhabi announced a stimulus package of AED 50 billion over the next three years, after a period of fiscal consolidation.
Qatar benefited from their index-linked trade, driven by the increase in Foreign Ownership Limits for multiple stocks, that was unwound at the end of May. Qatar continued to weather the economic storm caused by the boycott that started in June 2017 and raised US$ 12 billion in debt, indicating that the investors remain comfortable to assume Qatar’s sovereign risk, which can be viewed as a positive development for the country. However, we remain cautious on the outlook of Qatar due to the uncertainty surrounding hosting FIFA World Cup 2022.
Bahrain’s lack of a reform plan to address the structural imbalances in the economy has pushed away investors from taking on the country’s credit risk. As such, in June Bahrain’s Credit Default Swaps (CDS) hit a historical high of 609 bps. This has forced Bahrain to call on explicit help from other GCC states, namely Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Oil prices remain well supported and well above the budget forecast range for most GCC countries. They are expected to remain high, driven by global demand coupled with the supply disruption on the back of reinstating sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and lower output from countries with aligning infrastructure such as Venezuela and African producers.
Market Outlook
We expect Saudi and Kuwait markets to remain well bid for most of 2019 with increased volatility, but with a positive overall trend. Kuwait has been recently overlooked by investors, but has started to attract interest and catch a bid (+10%) during the beginning of July as investors position themselves ahead of the FTSE trade, where the implementation of Kuwait’s inclusion in the FTSE Emerging Markets Index will be spread over two equal tranches in September and December 2018.
The GCC region will make up just under 4.0% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index after Saudi Arabia’s inclusion which should allow this region to claim a permanent part of any global emerging market portfolio as opposed to being just a trade. We anticipate that the market will respond to these inclusions and there will be an increase in products created on the back of it. We believe that this will attract additional capital and interest in the region, boosting liquidity and ironing out market inefficiencies.
Monetizing Saudi Aramco through an IPO or a private placement will provide the funding required to carry out the economic reforms comfortably. Furthermore, it represents an opportunity for the Saudi government to borrow against the value of the Company providing a sizeable source of funding. Moreover, the Saudi government could use Saudi Aramco shares as a currency and swap it for strategic stakes in various companies around the world, which would further diversify the government’s investment book.
Beyond the near-term index related catalysts mentioned previously, the region’s long-term prospects remain favorable driven by major reform plans, government spending, privatization of government assets and promising demographics which are expected to bolster demand for consumption and services.
Finally, we would like to thank all our investors for their continued support and are always available to discuss this commentary in greater details.
Kind regards,
Rasmala’s Equities Team
Ali Taqi, CFA
Vishal Gupta
Abdulla Nahlawi
Sources:
– MSCI Press Release “Results of MSCI 2018 Market Classification Review”, 20 June 2018.
– FTSE Press Release “FTSE Russell promotes Saudi Arabia to Emerging Market status”,
28 March 2018.
– UAE Cabinet Announcement, 13 June 2018.
– Rasmala Internal Analysis.
EIIB-Rasmala Embarks On Expansion Drive
- Expects to launch a further series of innovative, alternative fund products in early 2015
- Considering strategic development opportunities across the region
Dubai, November 3, 2014: EIIB-Rasmala (‘the Group’), a leading specialist asset management and financing group focused on the growth markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has announced a series of new business and strategic initiatives for 2015.
Following on from the launch of a series of new and innovative funds during 2014, including the Rasmala Leasing Fund and Rasmala Trade Finance Fund, EIIB-Rasmala plans to further expand its leasing and real estate funds management businesses in 2015. The Group is currently finalizing the launch of two new leasing fund strategies and will also expand its UAE real estate business. The launch of these new funds, driven by growing investor demand for more innovative investment management solutions, will offer an even broader investment choice to both existing and new clients. The Group expects to raise approximately $1bn for its growing leasing and alternatives business and approximately $250m to invest in a broad mix of real estate transactions in the UK.
The Group is looking to take advantage of the increasingly positive industry and market dynamics across the broader Middle East and North Africa region. 2014 has seen a surge of international investor interest in both the GCC and the wider region. This growing demand is due to a combination of progressive regulatory activity, particularly in markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as greater investor confidence in the underlying market fundamentals of the region. The MSCI upgrade of the UAE and Qatar to emerging market status has also been seen as a positive development.
In Egypt, EIIB-Rasmala is seeking to increase its shareholding in its subsidiary, Rasmala Egypt Asset Management S.A.E. As the economic and political situation in Egypt stabilizes, the Egyptian asset management market has become an attractive sector that is primed for further growth, as well as the further attention of international investors. In Saudi Arabia, the recent announcement by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to open up the equity market to greater foreign ownership is expected to result in significantly increased investment flows into one of the region’s largest, most mature and liquid share markets. EIIB-Rasmala is well positioned, both financially and strategically, to take full advantage of the expected growth of these two large regional markets and is currently considering a number of opportunities to bolster both its presence and distribution reach through new, strategic joint ventures.
Zak Hydari, Chief Executive at EIIB-Rasmala, said: “We have successfully completed the transformation of EIIB-Rasmala and consolidated our position as one of the most innovative regional asset managers. In 2014 we saw a higher level of investor demand for broader, more alternative investment products, as well as greater overseas investor interest in our key markets. Given this demand, we are now accelerating the expansion of core strategies and product offerings and we are actively investing in order to stay at the forefront of the regional industry.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Lukasz Gwozdz
Finsbury
T: +971 (0) 52 649 8556
E: lukasz.gwozdz@finsbury.com
About EIIB-Rasmala
EIIB-Rasmala (‘The Group’) is a London-listed asset management and financing group specialized in the growth markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Group operates regulated businesses across the GCC and the wider Middle East and North Africa (‘MENA’) region offering investment management and financing solutions to pension funds, family offices, corporations and financial and government institutions.
The Group is listed in London on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. EIIB-Rasmala employs approximately 100 staff in London, Dubai, Muscat and Cairo.