PineBridge Investments, a New York-based asset manager, said on Tuesday its Middle East unit had raised $140 million for a sharia-compliant fund that would invest in income-producing real estate assets in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

PineBridge Investments Middle East's fund will acquire existing real estate assets that generate stable returns, with a focus on the logistics, social infrastructure and community retail sectors, chief executive Talal Al Zain told Reuters.

Al Zain, a former chief executive of Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat who set up PineBridge's regional headquarters in Manama two years ago, said he expected the fund to have a final closing of $200 million.

After crashing during the global financial crisis several years ago, many real estate markets in the GCC are recovering strongly.

Heavy demand from cash-rich Islamic investors is prompting asset managers in the region to make many of their new products in the region sharia-compliant, meaning they obey religious principles such as a ban on interest payments. - Reuters