In a HedgeCo story this morning I wrote about Barclays Global Investors (BGI) and the opening of an office in the United Arab Emirates' Dubai International Finance Centre.

BGI has been active in the region since 1998 and currently has assets under management of US$ 28 billion in area.

"The new office is a strategic development for BGI's Middle Eastern business relationships." David Semaya, Chief Executive, Barclays Global Investors Europe & Asia, said, "We are seeing investors in the region becoming more demanding in their investment strategies."

BGI's iShares, including its three recently launched Sharia'ah compliant funds, will primarily address the retail market. Islamic finance is a $400bn industry, growing at a rate of over 15% per annum.