Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange Tadawul launches first Islamic index

The Saudi Exchange launched on Sunday its first Shariah Compliant Index, the TASI Islamic Index. This comes in response to growing demand and interest from local and international investors for Shariah-compliant investment tools, reported Saudi Gazette.

According to the report, the Index tracks the performance of Shariah-compliant companies listed on the Saudi Exchange under the supervision of an independent Shariah Advisory Committee. It will act as a tool for investors and wider market participants to guide and inform decisions when looking into Shariah-compliant investments, while also allowing asset managers to benchmark the performance of their Shariah-compliant portfolios.

Mohammed Al Rumaih, CEO of Saudi Exchange, said in the news report: “The launch of the TASI Islamic Index complements the Exchange’s ongoing product and indices development efforts to provide best-in-class services and diversified offerings to investors. The Index will facilitate the launch of new financial products in the market to satisfy the increasing demand for Shariah-compliant investment tools.”

“The introduction of such tools shall ultimately boost the Islamic investment sector in the Kingdom. It will also strengthen the Saudi Exchange’s position as the investors’ exchange of choice and an attractive investment destination in line with Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program.” Al Rumaih added.