BBK launches new investment vehicle to explore the fast-growing Indian market

The "BBK Forsyth Indian Opportunities Fund" a new Fund of Funds, which is a specialist fund investing in a mixture of Indian domestic (85%) and offshore (15%) long-only equity funds, opened for investors this week. The fund is launched by BBK in partnership with UK-based Forsyth Partners Ltd will be distributing in selected GCC countries.

The BBK Forsyth Indian Opportunities Fund, announced at the end of January at a ceremony held at the Sheraton Hotel, Bahrain, targets long-term capital growth, and gives a unique opportunity to investors to explore from the fast growing Indian Economy. The fund as an emerging market exposure is a highly attractive product into BBK's existing investment product range.

The Fund officially launched in October 2005 and, in its first three months alone, yielded about 20%. Most of the underlying funds in its portfolio have produced returns over 200% over the past three year period.

Abdul Rasool Turki, AGM Treasury & Investment - BBK, said,

"BBK is always on the lookout for products that capitalize on high-potential markets, and we believe the BBK Forsyth Indian Opportunities Fund is such a product with tremendous opportunities for investors. The Fund of Funds offers a good vehicle for both corporate and individual investors to access a variety of Indian equities and equity-related securities. It is a move to further diversify the products we offer to our customers, ensuring that they have exposure to key target markets which the Bank identifies as hot areas for investment."

Forsyth Partners' Senior Vice President and Chief Representative for Bahrain, Mr. Alaa Buhussain, said "Forsyth Partners has been researching, rating and advising fund managers in the region for the past 10 years, acquiring in the process an in-depth knowledge of market dynamics". Mr. Buhussain added "The BBK Forsyth Indian Opportunities Fund is an actively managed fund of Indian equity funds offering access to a unique blend of offshore and onshore managers. The fund provides regional investors with an ideal opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio while maintaining a long-term capital growth target."

Mr. Buhussain concluded "We are very proud to have formed this relationship with BBK. The bank's persistent drive to bring new and unique products makes it an ideal partner that exemplifies the future trends of banking in the region".

India is considered a matured capital market, with its National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) being the third and fifth largest in the world in terms of the number of trades. Recent trends shows, there has been a clear surge in confidence amongst foreign investors in India, with more than 77 new funds having been registered with the Stock Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since January 2004.