Wittenham launches hedge fund for frontier markets

SINGAPORE, July 1 - Singapore's Wittenham Investment Management
launched a fund of hedge funds to invest in frontier capital markets
such as Africa, Middle East and countries in the former Soviet Union.

The MENA Plus fund would start with a minimum $7 million seed capital
and has a capacity to take as much as $300 million of funds from
investors, said Peter Douglas, an adviser to the fund and founder of
hedge fund consultancy GFIA.

"In the emerging Europe, Middle East, and African time zone, we've
found plenty of experienced managers creating very attractive risk-
return profiles," he said in a statement.

High prices of oil and commodities have boosted economic growth and
wealth in the Middle East and in Africa, encouraging fund managers
such as Franklin Templeton and Pictet to invest in these so-called
frontier markets.

Last year MSCI Barra, a unit of Morgan Stanley <MS.N>, launched the
MSCI Frontier Markets Indices <0#.MIFM> covering 19 countries in
central and eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.


http://www.wittenhamfunds.com/