Saudi’s Al Murjan and BlueFive Capital Join Forces to Revolutionise Sharia Finance

It’s not every day you see two heavyweight names from different sides of the globe joining forces, but that’s exactly what’s happening in the world of Islamic finance. Al Murjan Group—one of Saudi Arabia’s top family-run business powerhouses—and global investment outfit BlueFive Capital are tying the knot, so to speak, with a cross-shareholding partnership that aims to shake up Sharia-compliant asset management on an international scale.

Here’s the heart of it: BlueFive is snapping up a substantial minority stake in Sidra Capital, which has earned a sterling reputation across the GCC for managing private assets in line with Sharia principles. Flipping the coin, Al Murjan is taking the same kind of stake in BlueFive786, the freshly-unveiled arm of BlueFive that’s set to operate out of Singapore. The plan? Roll out sharia-compliant investment products—think retirement and savings schemes—targeted at countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei and Singapore, where the demand for ethical, faith-aligned investing is growing by the day.

It makes practical sense. There’s a surge of interest in Islamic finance beyond the Middle East, and this partnership looks spot on for plugging into that trend. And it’s not just about swapping cash and shaking hands—the deal means BlueFive will open up shop in Riyadh and start working shoulder to shoulder with Sidra Capital in managing investments across Saudi Arabia. When I look at collaborations like this, I reckon it’s got the potential to give both parties access to capital and ideas that simply weren’t on the menu before.

What stands out is the way both firms are keeping a foot in each other’s worlds, opening doors to co-branded investment vehicles and potentially some pretty unique financial products. And believe it or not, the leadership is getting a shuffle as part of the tie-up. BlueFive’s founder Hazem Ben-Gacem and co-founder Yasser Bajsair are joining Sidra Capital’s board, while Taufiq Bahamdain, CEO of Al Murjan, and board member Shahid Shaikh will represent their group on BlueFive786’s board. When you’ve got experienced heads like these around the table, it bodes well for steering the company through choppy waters.

Bahamdain himself summed up the move by describing it as building a “powerful conduit” for cross-border ethical investments, expanding beyond the old comfort zones of the GCC and tapping into Southeast Asia’s dynamic markets. He pointed to Sidra Capital’s roots in tradition, and BlueFive’s fresh, innovative approach as the best of both worlds. Meanwhile, BlueFive’s Ben-Gacem expressed gratitude for the trust shown by Al Murjan’s Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Mahfouz, hinting at a vision to “redefine and shape the products” that are currently lacking in many Muslim-majority markets.

Of course, partnerships and big promises are one thing—execution is another, and it’ll be interesting to see how quickly these plans move from boardroom to the real world. On the flip side, the business of Sharia-compliant asset management is a bit of a faff with all its regulatory nuances, but this tie-up might just give it the heft and credibility to go the distance.

At Arageek, we’ve seen a fair few collaborations come and go, but what catches my eye here is the willingness to experiment and reach across borders. It’s not just a numbers game; there’s a sense of genuine drive to create products that actually make a difference to people planning for their futures—savers and retirees who need something more than the usual cookie-cutter offerings.

If you ask me, it’s not only about chasing profit, but building something that sticks and grows in a changing world. And that, sometimes, is harder than it looks… but very much worth the effort.

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