Al-Tawfeek Company for Investment Funds, part of the Dallah Albaraka Group of Saudi Arabia, has launched $18 million Islamic venture capital fund to invest in unlisted Malaysian companies.

The closed-end Malaysian Equity Ventures Fund, registered in the Cayman Islands, will be run by a holding company jointly owned by Al-Tawfeek and Malaysia's Rashid Hussain BHD. It was launched on 1 December and subscription, which starts at $100,000 for individuals, is due to close at the end of January.

'The fund's investment strategy is to prudently invest in companies with potential to be listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange of periods up to three to seven years,' Al-Tawfeek said on 3 December. It will be limited to Malaysia.

Earlier this year, Al-Tawfeek launched an open-ended Islamic fund to invest in global equities. By September, it had commitments of more than $45 million from investors (MEED 20:9:96)