BSE launches Shariah 50 index
27 Dec 2010
The Bombay Stock Exchange today launched India's first Shariah-compliant index, to promote financial inclusion among Muslims. The `BSE Tasis Shariah 50' index, which saw a turnover of Rs463 crore, ended the day marginally lower.
"The introduction of the BSE Tasis Shariah Index will give Islamic and other socially responsible investors another means to access the Indian market and will help attract pools of capital to India from the Gulf, Europe, and Southeast Asia," said Madhu Kannan, managing director and CEO of BSE.
"This index will create increased awareness on financial investments amongst the masses and help enhance financial inclusion. It will also build a base for licensing for the construction of Shariah-compliant financial products, including mutual funds, ETFs, and structured products," Kannan added.
The index comprises 50 of the largest and most liquid Shariah-compliant stocks within the BSE 500. It has been launched by the BSE along with Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (Tasis), which has been involved with most of the Shariah-compliant financial products launched in the country.
"The index will unlock the potential for Shariah investments in India," notes M H Khatkhatay, a senior member of the Tasis team. "This is the first time a serious and concerted effort has been made to track Shariah-compliant stocks in India objectively." Tasis has a team of Shariah scholars based in India, North America and Europe.
Shariq Nisar, director, research and operations, TASIS, points out that the BSE has the largest number of listed Shariah-compliant stocks in the world. "All Muslim countries of the Middle East and Pakistan put together do not have as many listed, Shariah-compliant stocks as are available on the BSE," he adds.
Interestingly, Tata Asset Management Ltd earlier this year set up the Tata Indian Shariah Equity Fund to tap investments from the Gulf and the Middle East. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his visit to Kuala Lumpur in October, had said he would ask the Reserve Bank of India to learn more about Islamic financial products from Malaysia.