Malaysia's CIMB-Principal starts Islamic equity fund

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian asset manager CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd has launched an Islamic emerging markets equity fund which will invest in infrastructure, commodities and technology firms, the company said on Tuesday.

The fund will invest in companies from Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe including Brazilian energy firm Petrobras , Korean tech firm Samsung Electronics, South African chemical maker Sasol and Mexican telecoms company America Movil , CIMB-Principal said.

CIMB-Principal is part of Malaysia's second largest lender Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings.

"Strong global demand for petrol has benefited oil-producing economies such as Brazil, Russia and Mexico," CIMB-Principal Chief Executive Noripah Kamso said in a statement.

"With the slowdown in the U.S. and European economies, emerging markets are set to rank among the world's largest economies in the coming decades."

Malaysia, where more than half of the population of 26 million is Muslim, aspires to be a global leader in Islamic finance, which forbids investments involving interest payments, speculation, contractual uncertainty, gambling and weapons.

Islamic assets are growing at an annual pace of around 20 percent and are set to hit $2 trillion in 2010 from $900 billion now, Ernst & Young forecast in February.