Al-Tawfeek Company for Investment Funds, a unit of the Saudi Dallab Albaraka Group, has launched an Islamic equity investment fund, which aims to raise $150 million200 million to place in global securities.

The open-ended Al-Safwa fund, which targets investors in the Gulf Arab states and the Far East, will invest in equities worldwide that have been screened for Islamic acceptability.

Roll & Ross Asset Management of the US has been appointed as the fund's investment adviser and will manage the technical aspects of stock selection, while Al-Tawfeek will handle the Sharia compliance side. The minimum initial subscription will be $100,000.

'The cardinal speciality feature of this Islamic Equity Fund is the creative development of proprietary high-tech computer software applications,' Al-Tawfeek said. Potential investments will be 'filtered' for 'un-Islamic activities', borrowing or leveraging with interest and lending at interest. 'The fund cannot invest in debt-based securities, derivatives or short selling.' Al-Tawfeek is an Islamic investment management company registered in the Cayman Islands and owned by the Jeddah-based Dallah Albaraka Group (see below). Its total assets stood at $391.4 million in February 1995 It has also announced plans to launch a Malaysia Venture Capital Fund during 1996, which would target unlisted companies with good prospects for getting a listing on the local stock market (MEED 8:12:95).