Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and Dubai World have announced plans for a $5,000 million family of private equity funds to participate in strategic transactions across the world. The suite of seven investment products is due to be launched over the next 18 months.

The target sectors will be: energy, financial institutions, infrastructure, real estate, health and education, general industries and technology, and media and telecoms. DIB and Dubai World will act as seed investors in each fund while other investors will initially contribute about 30 per cent of total commitments, with subsequent drawdowns made on an as-needs basis.

'This $5,000 million family of funds will be leveraged to complete transactions in excess of $10,000 million,' says Sultan bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, which is the holding company for firms including DP World, Istithmar, Nakheel, Dubai Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. DIB chief executive officer Saad Mohammed Abdul Razak says that the funds were expected to generate returns of 20-25 per cent depending on the sector.

Several of the vehicles are due to be launched by the end of the year.

Baker & McKenzie and Norton Rose are acting as legal advisers; Ernst & Young is the auditor; Bank of New York is the escrow agent.