Saudi’s Sidra Capital Opening Islamic Trade Fund to GCC investors

Saudi Arabia-based investment bank Sidra Capital is changing its Islamic trade finance fund, initially established as closed-ended, to an open-ended format as it sees growing appetite from regional investors in the Gulf, its chief executive said.

The Luxembourg-registered fund provides working capital to small businesses focusing on agricultural commodities, energy and metals, a segment often neglected by Islamic lenders, across emerging markets outside Saudi Arabia.