RHB Launches Malaysia's 1st Islamic Retail Fund Targeting Global Developed Markets

RHB LAUNCHES MALAYSIA’S FIRST ISLAMIC RETAIL FUND TARGETING GLOBAL DEVELOPED MARKETS  Kuala Lumpur, 28 May 2015 – RHB Islamic International Asset Management Berhad (RHBIIAM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RHB Asset Management Sdn Bhd, today launched Malaysia’s first Islamic retail fund that targets global developed markets - the RHB Islamic Global Developed Markets Fund. The Fund aims to provide investors with long term capital growth by investing 70% to 98% of the net asset value in Shariah-compliant equities issued by companies listed on the stock exchanges of Developed markets. Developed markets are countries that are most developed in terms of its economy and capital markets. These countries are of high income, open to foreign ownership and have relative ease of capital movements. Such countries include the United States of America, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Japan and Australia. Eliza Ong, Managing Director / Regional Head of Group RHB Asset Management said “We are bringing this fund to Malaysian investors at a time where global economic growth is at a positive trajectory. This acceleration will be led by developed markets due to its sound fiscal policy, wealth effect feeding into the real economy and the positives from low oil prices which continues to drive corporate earnings and consumption, thus allowing investors to reap positive benefits from the newly launched fund”. The Fund is structured to capture the key global themes of consumption and lifestyle, healthcare, smart gadgets, and robotic revolution that would potentially and are expected to benefit from the recovery in the Developed Markets. The Fund is suitable for investors who are looking for Shariah-compliant investments and who are willing to accept moderate risk in their investments in order to achieve long term growth. In the investment management of the Fund’s portfolio, RHBIIAM has appointed Nomura Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd (Nomura Islamic) to be its External Investment Manager. Nomura Islamic is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nomura Asset Management Singapore Ltd. which, in turn is wholly-owned by Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. (NAM Tokyo). Nomura Islamic manages local, regional and global Islamic mandates such as Shariah-compliant equities and Sukuk for institutions, financial and corporate clients in Malaysia and abroad including the Middle East countries. Mr. Fumiki Kondo, Senior Corporate Managing Director, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd., said "We are keen to begin our partnership with RHB on the RHB Islamic Global Developed Markets Fund which will be our first foray into the retail space in Malaysia. With this, we will be bringing our strong track record in investing, experienced team and our Global Shariah product to benefit investors in Malaysia. We are committed to working together with our partners to make this product a success. ” To perform its Shariah stocks screening for inclusion into the portfolio RHB Islamic Global Developed Markets Fund, RHBIIAM subscribes to IdealRatings Inc. Mohammad Donia, CEO, IdealRatings Inc said "We are extremely excited with the launch of RHB Islamic Global Developed Markets Fund and the opportunity to partner with RHB and Nomura as the screening provider for the underlying equity investments of the Fund”. The Fund is offered at a minimum investment amount of RM1,000 and it is exclusively distributed by RHB Bank Berhad for the first six months. About the RHB Banking Group The RHB Banking Group is the fourth largest fully integrated financial services group in Malaysia. The Group’s core businesses are streamlined into three main business pillars namely Group Retail and Commercial Banking, Group International Business and Group Corporate and Investment Banking. These businesses are offered through its main subsidiaries -RHB Bank Berhad, RHB Investment Bank Berhad, RHB Insurance Berhad and RHB Islamic Bank Berhad, while its asset management and unit trust businesses are undertaken by RHB Asset Management Sdn. Bhd. and RHB Islamic International Asset Management Berhad. The Group’s regional presence now spans ten countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Myanmar. It is RHB Banking Group’s aspiration to continue to deliver superior customer experience and shareholder value; and to be recognised as a Leading Multinational Financial Services Group.  About the Nomura Asset Management We are a leading Asian-based global fund house with 16 offices around the world and assets under management of USD 309 billion; USD 4 billion (MYR14 billion) in Malaysia, as of March 2015. We have been managing funds for major institutional investors in Malaysia for over twenty years, and since the establishment of our Malaysian offices, we have grown to be one of the largest foreign fund house in Malaysia and among the top 25 largest Islamic fund houses globally.   About IdealRatings, Inc. IdealRatings® is the most trusted provider of comprehensive faith-based and responsible investment information. IdealRatings analyze and screen various asset classes that cover equities, REITs and Sukuk (Islamic fixed income instruments) globally as well as provide customized benchmarks with accordance to clients’ own investment and screening guidelines. IdealRatings fund and index management solutions serve top-tier asset managers, banks, brokerage firms, information providers and index providers in more than 25 countries IdealRatings has partnered with Russell Indexes and has launched the Russell- IdealRatings Global Islamic Indexes series for fund managers to license the indexes for the underlying investments and benchmarking of fund performance. IdealRatings, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, California.