Abu Dhabi’s Lunate launches ETF tracking Japanese equities

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Abu Dhabi investor Lunate Capital is launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Japanese equities that will be listed on the Abu Dhabi securities exchange (ADX), the firm said in a statement on Thursday.

Lunate said the Chimera S&P Japan UCITS ETF, its third ETF so far this year, will list on May 29 and give investors access to the top 30 most liquid Japanese stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange including Toyota and Sony.

Multi-billion asset empire

Lunate, which manages $105bn of assets, is part of business holdings steered by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The firm’s investments, which include the acquisition announced last month of a 40 per cent stake in the entity that leases ADNOC’s oil pipelines, shed a light on how Abu Dhabi is creating a new national champion in alternative investments.

In January, it launched an ETF tracking the performance of Shariah-compliant Indian equities listed in Mumbai and in March it teamed up with JPMorgan to develop the first ETF tracking the performance of bonds in the UAE.

The ETF market will contribute to bolster “Abu Dhabi’s plan to diversify its economy and attract more investors to its financial centre,” ADX’s CEO Abdulla Salem Alnuaimi was quoted as saying in Thursday’s statement.

Investors will be able to subscribe to the ETF between May 16-23, Lunate added.