Petrodollars pour into Asia funds

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Middle Eastern investors are investing in Asian property and private equity funds, signaling the start of an investment push into Asia, a Citigroup (C.N) private banker said.

"The Asian theme is a very strong theme for our Middle East clients," Samir Raslan, head of the Southeast Asia for Citigroup Private Bank, said in an interview ahead of the Reuters Wealth Management Summit. "The investments we have seen are mostly through funds."

Raslan, who is from Lebanon, said he expects the flow of Middle Eastern wealth will become bigger for Singapore if more Arab visitors come to the city-state and banks start hiring bankers dedicated to the Middle East market.

"We see that beginning to happen," he said. "How fast it will (grow), we just have to see."

Malaysia, which is home to a large Muslim population, is already a major Islamic banking player in the region. Singapore, for its part, has been encouraging Islamic banking and Sharia-compliant asset management services.

The city-state hopes its growing trade and investment ties with the Middle East, flush with oil dollars, and with other countries with large Muslim populations such as India and Pakistan will help it to develop an Islamic finance industry.

Earlier this year Citigroup Alternative Investments launched an $800 million Asian property fund which attracted "substantial" inflows from the bank's Middle Eastern clients, Raslan said.

Similarly, investors from the region poured money into CapitaLand Ltd's (CATL.SI) $400 million China Real Estate Fund, which was launched late last year with Citigroup, he said.

The six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- have a combined gross domestic product of about $450 billion, with a population of 35 million.

Citigroup hosted 40 of its top-tier clients from the Asia-Pacific region -- including Singapore and Hong Kong -- at a seminar in Dubai featuring prominent business and government leaders of the Gulf region.