Oman Daily Observer, 20 November 2023: Oman’s Capital Market Authority has announced the establishment of the Sultanate’s first Islamic investment fund.

The Gheras Fund, was launched by Imam Jabir bin Zaid Waqf Foundation.

All private and public Waqf institutions as well as Waqf agents will be able to join the fund.

Waqf units will be owned by Waqf institutions, allowing contributors to participate by allocating or purchasing units and designating them for specific Waqf institutions based on the contributor’s intentions.

The fund will not only serve orphans and the sick but also help establish mosques and other types of endowments.

The fund’s asset classes will include Sharia-compliant fixed income instruments along with Sharia-compliant stocks.

It will be the first fund of its kind to list on the Muscat Stock Exchange.

The subscription for the initial public offering will run from 17 to 21 December.

It will be open to private and public Waqf institutions and agents and will be valued at around 50 million Rials.

It has been established to address an urgent need for investing Waqf assets and deviating from the conventional approach of investing solely in real estate and similar avenues within the endowment sector.

The fund’s investments will be managed by Ubhar Capital. The funds will be collected by Sohar Islamic Bank.

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