The Philippine Stock Exchange said 60 listed companies made it to the latest list of Shari’ah-compliant securities.
The PSE said in a memorandum it finalized the list for the period ending December 2017.
The review resulted in the inclusion of three new companies in the list, namely Ionics Inc., Keppel Philippine Properties Inc and Philab Holdings Corp.
Four companies, meanwhile, were removed from the list, namely Apex Mining Inc., Asian Terminals Inc., Philippine Estate Corp. and Philippine Realty and Holdings Corp.
The local bourse has engaged the services of IdealRatings Inc. to screen listed companies for Shari’ah compliance as stipulated by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Finance Institutions.
IdealRatings is a provider of Islamic finance information that specializes in screening securities for Shari’ah compliance.
To be considered Shari’ah-compliant, the nature of a company’s primary activities must not be involved in prohibited business activities in accordance with Islam.
Shari’ah is the moral code and religious law of Islam covering the rules, regulations, teachings and values that govern the lives of Muslims.
Listed companies involved in ventures like interest-based lending, pork, alcohol, gambling, casinos, pornography, arms and weapons, tobacco and human stem cell research are excluded from the Shariah-compliant list.
Launched in 2013, the offering of Shariah-compliant companies is in line with the goals of the National Commission of Muslim Filipinos to provide Muslim Filipinos with a list of companies that can be considered resilient and sound investments.
The initiative aims to open the Philippine market to investors who abide by the Shariah law.
The move is also considered the first step for the Philippines to venture into the Islamic capital market and join the more than $1.5-trillion global asset class.
Prior to the release of the list, Muslim-Filipino investors invested in Shari’ah-compliant firms that are listed with the Malaysia and Indonesia stock exchanges.