ABN AMRO rolls out another Shariah Investment int eh Middle East

ABN Amro has launched the Islamic Basic Resources and Energy Basket Yield Discovery Certificate for investors in the Middle East, a sharia-compliant product, which is designed to provide exposure to the energy and basic resources sectors.

The four-year 100% capital protected certificate pays an annual profit rate based on the performance of a basket of equities comprising companies in the oil, gas and consumable fuels; energy equipment and services; chemicals; industrial conglomerates; and metals and mining sectors.

The profit rate is capped at 15% per year. As long as the basket level is above its initial value on a profit rate distribution date the product will pay an income. The performance of the basket is calculated as the average of the performance of each individual stock in the portfolio. This means that if one stock increases by 16%, only 15% will contribute to the average when calculating the performance of the basket.

The certificates are denominated in US dollars at a price of US$100, while the number of certificate issued will be 400,000. The sharia board consists of scholars Muhammed Ali Elgari and Imran Usmani.