Qatari Barwa Real Estate and Gazprombank, an affiliate of gas producer and exporter Gazprom, have announced the first closing of the Shariah-compliant, Barwa Gazprombank Russia Real Estate Fund.

The vehicle represents the first partnership between Barwa and Gazprombank and will be seeded with around $75 mln (EUR 55 mln) of capital from each company. The First Investor QSCC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barwa Bank, will contribute $2 mln into the fund.

The companies first announced their intention to launch the fund in July 2010.

Tariq Al Jaber, CEO of Barwa International said: 'The fund launch reinforces our belief in the success of the first joint collaboration with Gazprombank and lays the foundation for future successful endeavors with our Russian partner. We are looking forward with optimism to the future and strongly believe in the success of this venture.'

'We have achieved our first closing within our initial timeframe, which demonstrates the positive spirit of our relationship with Barwa Real Estate and the efficiency of our co-fund manager,The First Investor,' added Anatoly Miliukov, executive vice-president and head of Asset Management at Gazprombank.