Daman UAE value fund announces record dividend

The dividend distribution follows growth of 11.71 percent during the Third Quarter of 2004. The Fund's year to date dividend yield is 7.38 percent, significantly exceeding the NBAD Index yield of 2.13 percent.

"The Fund has consistently sought to generate and lock-in gains for investors by trading actively and distributing quarterly dividends," said Mr. Shehab M Gargash, Director of the Fund. "We are pleased that our Third Quarter results have validated our focus on those goals."

As of September 30, 2004, the Fund's Net Asset Value per share was AED 203.68 per share, which was adjusted to AED 199.68 per share following the AED 4.00 per share dividend declaration. The Fund grew by 5.09 percent during September, 2004.

"Investors began to price in expected third quarter results during September, which drove prices up early in the month. Even though corporate financial results did not begin to be announced until the middle of October, positive expectations were an important factor in driving market growth early on in September. By the end of the month, profit taking began to dampen this growth," added Mr. Shehab M. Gargash.

The Fund has distributed dividends every quarter since inception on July 1, 2001. These payments have increased progressively from AED 2.00 per share following the first quarter of operations to AED 4.00 per share for the Third Quarter of 2004. Over its life, it has distributed a total of AED 34.00 per share, including AED 10.75 per share during 2004.

Daman also announced the NAV for another major offering, the IFA Khaleeji Fund that it launched in association with IFA and Univest groups of Kuwait. The NAV of the IFA Khaleeji Fund as of 30th September 2004 stood at US $ 104.03, an increase of $ 1.34 during the month of September. The regional Fund was launched last April, and provides a single entry vehicle for regional and international investors into the six GCC markets and Iraq.