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(MENAFN - Bahrain Tribune) Foraying into the emerging albeit futuristic field of nanotechnology, the Bahrain based investment arm of Arbah Capital, Arbah Global yesterday announced the launch of the Arbah Nanotechnology Fund at the World Islamic Capital Markets Conference.
The Shariah compliant Private Equity fund with a size of $100 million and a five-year term is the first of its kind to be launched in the Middle East and North Africa region, and will invest in shares and equity-oriented securities of companies with a particular emphasis on global nanotechnology companies including technology and biotechnology companies which benefit from nanotechnology.
"The investment is aimed at providing Arbah Global's investors across the GCC and beyond with access to a unique investment. We are confident that we have positioned the fund to benefit from the strong market dynamics this new technology will condition," explained Dhafer Alqahtani, CEO of Arbah Global.
"It is an extremely interesting time to be investing in the world of nanotechnology. The possibilities with nanotechnology are endless. Nanotechnology-enabled products are already being used in industry. So much of what we do will be involved with this technology that the opportunities are bound to be limitless. If investment is about discovering opportunities for growth, then nanotechnology is an obvious choice for those with an eye to the future."
"It clearly could lead to a new industrial revolution, and this historical change will create some significant investment opportunities particularly in energy, technology and biotechnology. The number of opportunities will surpass by many folds those created by the internet and IT wave."
James J. Berlino, Senior Vice President and Manager of the Arbah Nanotechnology Fund aid the Fund would transfer certain know how and applications to the region through cooperation with the leading nanotechnology institutes in the GCC, with particular focus on the oil, gas and petrochemical industry uses and applications.
"Nanotechnology is the next technological and innovation wave to invest in. We are at a point in time similar to the late 1980's regarding the internet and information technology, but Nanotechnology could have a more drastic impact on society. Manipulating matter at the molecular and atomic levels will impact all aspects of manufacturing in most sectors from energy inputs to manufacturing processes, to cost reductions, to ramping volumes."
"With the world currently suffering from capacity shortages and limitations in everything from food to energy to network and storage compute, the Arbah team intends to invest in companies that can breakthrough these barriers with nanotechnology, and deliver superior products at attractive prices to markets and industries suffering from shortages and capacity limitations.
The opportunity to unleash and capture global demand in so many different industries is remarkable." Saudi Arabia, he said, was preparing the groundwork for a new nanotechnology economy in a big way, the fruits of which were out to be enjoyed in the coming years.By the year 2015, the global nano technology products market was bound to rise to a staggering $1.2 trillion, up from today's $292 billion.
"We are trying to focus on only two segments of this immensely pomising arena - Information Technology and Bio Technology," he said.
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