Dubai launches Sharia Index

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) launched the Dubai Financial Market Sharia Index (DFMSI) yesterday. The initiative is part of the emirate’s efforts to attract more Islamic investments, a statement said.

The index consists of 40 listed companies, of which 30 are UAE firms while 10 are dually listed companies. The weightage of any company is capped at 10 per cent.

The initial market capitalization of the index is set as per stock prices on  December 31, 2009. The base of the index is set at 1,000 points. The inclusion of any new listing will be considered a month after the first trading date.

Shares, part of the DFM Sharia Index, are designated according to the quarterly updated list of Sharia-compliant companies issued by the DFM Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board. The list is revised based on the quarterly financial results of listed companies.

The index can be accessed through DFM’s website, mobile app as well as other DFM-run data dissemination platforms.

“The Index enables Sharia-complaint investors and international institutions a trajectory of the historical and current performance of DFM’s Sharia-complaint shares compared to other Islamic or conventional indices at the local, regional and international levels,” said H.E Essa Kazim, chairman of DFM.

“We believe that the DFM Sharia Index is a strong push to our efforts to further attract Islamic investments, considering the growing demand from investors across the world for ethical investments that focus on companies adhering to the Islamic Sharia or to any other general values related to sustainability and environment protection,” he added.

Global muslim spending reached $2.1 trillion in 2017, while the value of assets in the Islamic finance sector was estimated at $2.4 trillion in 2017, and is expected to grow to $3.8 trillion by 2023, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2018/19.