Dubai: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has published updated Sharia standards in a move to bolster the regulatory framework supporting the Islamic capital markets sector.
The updated guidelines include the Standard on Shares, first issued in 2007, and the Standard on Sukuk, first issued in 2014, the bourse said in a statement on Monday.
Also updated was the Standard on Investment Funds draft that was circulated earlier this year.
The DFM became the world’s first Sharia-compliant exchange in 2007 and its standards, the first of their kind, thoroughly explain Islamic investment instruments such as sukuk, shares and green investment funds.
“Since 2007, the DFM [has been] playing an active role in the joint efforts to further strengthen Dubai’s leading position in the Islamic economy sector,” Essa Kazim, Chairman of DFM said in a statement.
“We have introduced numerous initiatives, including the creation of a favourable regulatory framework and standards that support the growth of this sector.
We also provide market participants with the classification of the listed companies as per compliance [with] Sharia rules, as well as the calculation of the non-compliant income and the zakat calculation and we urge investors to disseminate the zakat. These initiatives have been very useful for investors who are looking to invest in line with the... Sharia rules.”
According to the 2018/2019 report, the Islamic finance sector is rapidly growing due to an increased demand for Sharia-compliant finance. The sector’s total assets are estimated at $2.4 trillion (Dh8.81 trillion) and expected to reach $3.8 trillion by 2023.
