Millennium to start sharia-compliant hedge fund

Dubai-based Millennium Finance Corporation is set to launch its first sharia-compliant hedge fund as it seeks to tap rising international demand for investments that comply with Islamic law.

The fund will be in partnership with the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund manager, the Man Group, Ahmad Atwan, managing director of Millennium Finance Corporation told Arabian Business, declining to give further details.

“It is something that is going to sit very well in the marketplace…..we plan to do a few more sharia-compliant hedge funds after that,” he said.

The Islamic finance industry is worth approximately $800 billion worldwide and is growing at an annual rate of 10-15%.

Demand for Islamic finance has increased globally, fuelled by Gulf countries where growth has doubled since 2002 on the back of soaring oil. Sharia law forbids Muslims from receiving or paying interest.