20/04/2014 04:08 AST
Muscat Securities Market (MSM) will begin operating from Sunday listing companies that are part of a new sample of the MSM Sharia Compatible Index, after having earlier announced the names of the sample companies.
Jamila bint Ali al-Hamhamyah, Director of Operations Department at MSM, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the sample includes companies from the regular market and parallel market, noting that the preliminary study prepared by the specialised company includes one company from the third market, but a lack of liquidity due to weak trading in the third market led to the exclusion of the company from the sample.
She added that the sample from the new index includes 30 public companies listed on MSM, and whose activities are compatible with the requirements of Sharia regulations approved by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), including 19 companies from the industrial sector, eight from the services sector and three from the financial sector.
She pointed out that the sample is reviewed every three months by adding those companies that meet the standards, or deleting companies that no longer comply with standards.
The index includes Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles, Al Jazeera Services, Al Izz Islamic bank, Bank Nizwa, Construction Materials Industries, Dhofar Beverages, Dhofar Poultry, Gulf International Chemicals, Gulf Mushroom Products, Majan Glass, Muscat Gases, Muscat Thread Mills, National Biscuit Industries, Nawras, Oman Chromite and Oman Chlorine.
It also has listed Oman Cement, Oman Fisheries, Oman Flour Mills, Oman Oil Company, Oman Refreshments, Oman Sweets, Omantel, Oman Textile Holding, Port Services Corporation, Raysut Cement, Shell Oman Marketing, A'Saffa Foods, Voltamp Energy, and Al Batinah Development and Investment.
Observers affirm that Islamic indexes applied to financial markets will attract a new segment of investors, as they meet the expectations of investors who prefer a reliable resource for identifying investments that are compatible with Sharia, which will contribute to the development and growth of the Islamic finance market sector through providing non-traditional investment options.
The Sharia compatible standards, according to AAOIFI, include two levels: business activities criteria and financial criteria.
Times of Oman
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