UAE-based Daman Investments, a key player in asset management, brokerage and venture capital, said on Monday it will launch a Dh200 million ($54.45 million) mutual fund as it looks to benefit from a recovery in Gulf Arab markets.

The fund, which targets an internal rate of return of 25 per cent a year over the life of the fund, will focus on bluechip equities listed on Gulf-based exchanges, debt products and commodities.

'The fund has been designed to catch a bounce back in the markets,' Daman managing director Shehab Gargash told reporters.

Stock markets in the Gulf led by Dubai underperformed in 2009, but may rise again on the back of an economic recovery and a positive outlook for oil prices.

Daman will seed the fund, which has a two-year lifespan and can be extended by an additional two years. Daman Investments is looking to sell shares to the public by 2012 to strengthen its financial position, it said last year.-Reuters