S

New Delhi, June 27 (UNI) World's leading index provider Standard and Poor today announced the launch of a fully investable S&P Pan Asia Shariah Index, the latest addition to its global Shariah index series.

The new index, which draws stocks from nine Asian markets, will enable Islamic investors to benchmark their investment on a regional basis, and give product providers the opportunity to develop structured products tailored to the Islamic market, the company said in a statement.

The countries eligible for inclusion are China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

S&P said Pan Asia Shariah Index has been launched with 71 companies with an adjusted market capitalization of 810.83 billion dollars. Information technology companies represent approximately 35 per cent of the index, followed by telecom services (17 per cent) and energy (15 per cent).

The company's global Shariah index series already offers Shariah-compliant versions of S&P 500, S&P Europe 350 and S&P Japan 500 - as well as the S&P GCC Middle East Shariah Index Series and the S&P BRIC Shariah Index.

" We are delighted to be able to offer a fully-investable Pan-Asian Shariah compliant index," said S&P Index Services Vice President Alka Banerjee.

She said their approach is to create a meaningful, product-based indices that give Islamic investors exposure to the same headline markets that conventional investors have enjoyed for years.

S&P Shariah indices excludes businesses which do not comply with Shariah-law, such as advertising and media (newspapers are allowed), alcohol, financials, gambling, pork, pornography, tobacco, and the trading of gold and silver as cash on a deferred basis, the company said.

All S&P Shariah Index constituents are monitored daily to ensure that the indices maintain strict Shariah compliance, it added.

UNI