AUSTRALIA - FUNDS - Crescent Wealth to launch Australia's 1st Islamic pension fund

www.reuters.com - (Reuters) - Australian fund manager Crescent Wealth plans to launch the country's first Islamic pension fund by December and allocate between 15 to 30 percent of it in property, its managing director said.
Talal Yassine said Crescent Wealth hopes to build the fund to between A$4 billion ($4.03 billion) and A$6 billion in five years.
Crescent Wealth, which was established last year, currently has less than A$5 million under management and advice but Yassine expects strong growth for his fund due to a lack of available Shariah-compliant financial products in Australia.  (source)

AUSTRALIA - FINANCE - The Australian News Opinion National Affairs Business Aus IT Higher Ed Media Sport Arts Life Magazines Careers Video Business News Opinion Companies Markets Wall Street Journal Economics Mining & Energy Wealth Aviation Financial Services Legal Property Top 50 Login Sign Up Search for: Stock Quotes: Markets Crescent unveils first sharia-compliant fund

www.theaustralian.com.au -MUSLIM Australians will be able to stash their cash with today's launch of Crescent Wealth's first Islamic cash management trust, which hopes to attract up to $100 million during the next few years.

Managing director Talal Yassine said he expected much of the money to come from Australian mosques. "Islamic Australians and institutions have had little choice so far but to put their cash reserves in non-compliant cash trusts," he said. (source)

AUSTRALIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Government barring Australia from a trillion dollar global market

www.abc.net.au - ELEANOR HALL: The Federal Government has been told the answer to overcoming the lack of infrastructure investment in Australia could be Islamic finance.

It's a system of banking which uses joint ventures, profit sharing and leasing to get around the Islamic prohibition on charging interest.

The head of Australia's first Islamic finance company says a potential investment boom is being stymied by barriers to Islamic finance in Australia.   (source)