United Securities, a Muscat-based brokerage and advisory firm, is launching an equity fund to tap investment opportunities in the Gulf, it said on Tuesday.

The United GCC fund will be actively managed and will invest across the Gulf equity markets, the firm said in a statement.

The initial public offering (IPO) period for the open-ended fund will run for a month from April 10. The minimum subscription for the fund will be 3,000 units with an IPO price of 1.02 rials ($2.65) per unit, United said.

Several local and international firms have launched equity funds in the Gulf Arab region, aiming to benefit from opportunities in the region touted as the next big emerging market.

The relatively nascent asset management industry in the Gulf took a heavy blow during and after the global financial crisis, hit by investor outflows and a sharp drop in fund values.-Reuters