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Dubai Looks for Investors from the Middle East for Gold Fund

DUBAI - Dubai’s state-run holding company is seeking Middle East investors for a gold investment fund that complies with Islamic law, said John Hathaway, the fund’s manager.

DSAM Kauthar Gold Fund Ltd. wants to draw institutional investors from Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to add to the current $79.4 million of assets under management. The fund aims to raise its assets to $5 billion in the next five years, according to Hathaway. “It’s the only Shariah-compliant gold fund available on the market,” he said on Friday in an interview in Dubai. Hathaway also manages the $1 billion Tocqueville Gold Fund in New York. DSAM Kauthar Gold has returned more than 50 per cent this year, compared with 65 per cent for Tocqueville Gold, as bullion heads for a ninth annual gain. Gold, which reached an all-time high of $1,070.80 an ounce yesterday, may rise to $1,200 in the next 12 months as investors seek an alternative to falling currencies, Hathaway said. Islamic law forbids investment in companies judged by scholars to be highly indebted and selling assets that one doesn’t own.