IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Arabia-based investment bank Sidra Capital is changing its Islamic trade finance fund, initially established as closed-ended, to an open-ended format as it sees growing appetite from regional investors in the Gulf, its chief executive Hani Baothman said. The first tranche of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) investors came with $50 million, and the firm expects more and more interest to come through. The fund, launched in 2012 with an initial $15 million in assets, has received approval from the Luxembourg regulator to become open-ended and it expects the Saudi regulator's approval as early as April, Baothman said.