ATEL Capital Group announced the successful initial closing of its new $250 million Shariah compliant leasing fund.

The fund consists of investors from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and has begun acquiring low technology equipment leased to investment-grade Fortune 1000 companies.

ATEL's program is the first Shariah compliant fund marketed to institutional and high net worth Islamic investors with such a global perspective.

"We are very pleased to have broken new ground with this Shariah compliant leasing program," said Dean Cash, president and CEO. "ATEL's ingenuity and dynamic spirit of entrepreneurship continues to propel us to search out this and other growth opportunities that allow us to build on the core strengths that have contributed to our success since 1977. The market acceptance of this fund is a testament to our high credit standards and the continued profitability of our investment programs despite the current challenging economic environment."

ATEL has over 15 years of experience providing leases to both Shariah compliant and conventional investors in the region thru relationships with major Middle East banks.

Many Shariah compliant investments offer the potential for high returns with significant risk (private equity, real estate) or provide very low returns with low risk. There are very few investments available to Shariah compliant investors with low risk and a mid-range return. In an effort to provide an efficient frontier for Shariah compliant investors ATEL said it has used its experience to offer an investment program that features low risk with a mid-range return. To assure compliance with Shariah Law the fund has established an internationally acclaimed board of Shariah scholars from across the Islamic world.