Golden visa lure drives Portuguese Shariah fund offering

Lisbon-based Atlantic Premium Capital Partners is looking beyond its Shariah fund offering, which is aimed at foreign nationals seeking EU residency via the Portugal Golden Visa – seeing it as the launching pad to win over corporates and sovereign entities, to manage their bespoke funds.

“Before someone starts to talk business with anyone, there must be trust. So, our first step is to show deep product knowledge that can be scaled up,” explained Managing Director (Middle East-Africa) Gani Mohamed.

Eyeing potential opportunities for big project investing by large corporations and sovereign entities – in Portugal and across Europe – Gani said the firm’s First Shariah Fund Portugal is also meant to be a showcase “for them to understand that we exist and to open the door for us to talk with them, as they can see that someone who can relate to their culture is already in this market”.

Describing big projects as involving amounts of US$300 million and higher, Gani said Atlantic Premium Capital is ready to facilitate high-demand opportunities like student housing or low-income housing projects that are now gaining attention in Portugal – with SPV management on the ready.

The foundation for this lofty ambition was set into motion in early 2023 when Portugal announced changes in its Golden Visa eligibility rules – disallowing the minimum EUR500,000 (US$586.11) to be invested in properties or funds invested in real estate.

In pivoting to offer alternate investments that would qualify foreign individuals for the Golden Visa, Atlantic Premium Capital chose to pursue a wholly Shariah fund offering – having received lots of requests for such screening from about 3,000 clients who had invested in the firm’s other funds.

Acknowledging a Shariah-certified competing fund offering for the Portugal Golden Visa scheme, Gani said Atlantic Premium Capital went further to engage with not just the regulators, but also with key financial industry players to ensure Islamic rules were strictly followed at every stage.

“It's very difficult to adapt the rules and regulations written in Portuguese to Shariah law. An example would be bank deposit statements used for over 40 years. We had to explain and persuade bankers to draft clauses in a different way, to avoid Riba and other Haram transactions.”

The whole process took around two years and the First Shariah Fund Portugal opened for subscription on the 18^th May 2025 – with a minimum subscription of EUR100,000 (US$117,220). This multisectoral fund is allowed to invest only in opportunities upon approval by its Shariah board.

Actively engaged in VC and PE strategies, this fund can invest in firms with high growth potential that operate in innovative and sustainable sectors such as agriculture, mining, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology, healthcare, food processing, sports and blockchain technology.

The fund’s NAV had grown to EUR49 million (US$57.44 million) as at the 30^th June 2025 and the target is to garner EUR60 million (US$70.33 million) by the end of 2025 or possibly reach the EUR100 million (US$177.22 million) investor cap.

Come 2026, Atlantic Premium Capital expects Shariah AuM to make up a quarter of its operational assets as it already operates three other conventional real estate funds that underpin the former Golden Visa qualification. Bespoke funds AuM would be handled separately, said Gani.