Daiwa FTSE Shariah Japan 100

What it is: Daiwa Asset Management's first syariah-compliant exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Singapore Exchange.

It offers Islamic investors instant access to the top 100 syariah-compliant companies in Japan by market capitalisation.

Details: Demand for syariah-compliant funds in Asia has been rising strongly on the back of increasing interest from Islamic investors in the Middle East.

The Daiwa ETF offers investors easy and affordable access to the largest and most liquid Japanese listed companies that comply with Islamic legal principles.

The top 10 holdings according to the FTSE Shariah Japan 100 Index are: Toyota, Canon, Nintendo, Matsushita Electric, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Mitsui & Co, Komatsu, Mitsubishi Electric, Nippon Steel and NTT DoCoMo.

Launched: Last Tuesday

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PostLine

What it is: A new personal line of credit launched by ABN Amro and distributed exclusively by Singapore Post (SingPost) at post offices islandwide.

Details: PostLine is designed to help clients save costs and give them more flexibility in their liquidity and cash flow management.

The interest rate is 17.28 per cent a year or 1.44 per cent per month, with a minimum interest charge of $12 per month.

You can also earn interest of 0.125 per cent a year on credit balances, much as you can on a savings account, with no minimum balance required.

Privileges at SingPost include a 2 per cent rebate on Shop@Post mail-order purchases.

All PostLine customers will be able to access their credit via a cheque book or an ATM card.

The annual fee of $55 is waived for the first year.

Launched: April 29

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JPMorgan AsiaConfidence Notes

What it is: A structured product for retail investors in Singapore which gives them access to equity derivatives that are normally available only to institutional and high net worth investors.

Details: JPMorgan AsiaConfidence Notes are linked to four underlying Asian indexes: MSCI Singapore Cash IX, MSCI Taiwan Index, Thailand's SET 50 Index and Kuala Lumpur Composite Index.

The use of indexes in the portfolio reduces the risks of exposure to some sectors or individual stocks.

The principal sum is at risk only if any of these markets falls by more than 50 per cent.

If all these markets stay above 50 per cent of their initial index levels, investors can enjoy a fixed payout of 7.5 per cent a year over a relatively short investment period of 21/2 years.

A minimum investment of $50,000 is required, and increments can be made in $1,000 denominations. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank are the distributors.

Launched: Last Monday. Offer period closes on June 20.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Renovated OCBC Private Bank

What it is: Located at OCBC Centre in Chulia Street, the newly renovated private bank offers high net worth investors a full range of financial solutions through which to accumulate, protect and preserve their wealth.

Details: OCBC Private Bank customers can tap the dedicated expertise of its investment specialists, treasury advisers and trustee experts, as well as the equities and asset management services offered by the various units and companies of the OCBC Group.

Customers also have access to the services of OCBC Trustee, which offers wealth protection and estate and generational planning solutions.

Launched: May 23

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Jun 1, 2008

Is this article useful to you?