47 Shariah-compliant firms named

MANILA, Philippines – Following up on earlier announcements about a Shariah law-compliant index, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) released the names of 47 listed companies that comply with Shariah law on Monday, December 16.

The move hopes to provide the exchange with a share of the US$1.5-trillion funds provided by Muslim investors.

PSE president Hans Sicat said the release of the list of Shariah-compliant firms should boost liquidity in the stock market, thanks to better participation from institutional and retail players. 

Sicat explained, “The listing of the Shariah-compliant companies, we think, is quite a landmark for us because it is obviously trying to tap a perhaps a new and different filter, an ethical filter, in this case, it is a Shariah filter.”

Shariah is the moral code and religious law of Islam. This represents the rules, regulations, teachings and values that govern the Muslim daily life.

Before the release of this Shariah list, Muslim-Filipino investors would look for Shariah-compliant firms listed on the Malaysian and Indonesian stock exchanges.

Releasing the list of compliant firms is the first step to a plan to introduce an Islamic sub-index by 2014.

The PSE partnered with IdealRatings Inc. to screen the listed companies for Shariah compliance in accordance to the globally accepted Accounting and Auditing of Islamic Financial Companies (AAOIFI) standards.

The list will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.

Shariah compliance screening excludes companies with businesses in conventional interest based lending, financial institutions, pork, alcohol, intoxicants, tobacco, arms and weapons, gambling, casinos, derivatives, pornography, music/entertainment and human stem-cell research.

The screening involves looking at a company’s financial ratios of cash and interest-bearing investments not exceeding 30%, interest-bearing debts not exceeding 30% and accounts receivables not exceeding 67% of market capitalization.

IdealRatings chief executive officer Mohammad Donia said the company is confident that global investors “would be keen on the Shariah-compliant PSE companies since several of the PSE-listed companies have outperformed their counterparts in ASEAN.”

Donia adds that the list “is a first step for Philippines to venture into the Islamic capital market and join the US$1.5 trillion global asset class.”

The following are among the list of Shariah-compliant companies:

• Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc.
• Aboitiz Power Corporation
• Jollibee Foods Corporation
• Manila Electric Company
• DMCI Holdings
• D&L Holdings Inc. 
• Philex Mining Corporation
• Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
• Universal Robina Corporation
• AgriNurture Inc.
• Alphaland Corporation
• Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc.
• APC Group Inc.
• Apex Mining Company Inc. 
• Araneta Properties Inc.
• Asian Terminals Inc.
• ATN Holdings Inc.
• Basic Energy Corporation
• Calapan Ventures Inc.
• Centro Escolar University
• Chemical Industries of the Philippines Inc.
• Chemrez Technologies Inc. 
• Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corporation
• City & Land Developers Inc. 
• Concrete Aggregates Corporation
• DFNN Inc. 
• EEI Corporation
• Holcim Philippines Inc. 
• Ionics Inc. 
• iPeople Inc.
• Keppel Philippines Properties Inc. 
• Lafarge Republic Inc.
• Liberty Flour Mills Inc.
• Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation
• Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation
• Marcventures Inc. 
• Megawide Construction Corporation
• Nickel Asia Corporation
• Oriental Peninsula Resources Group Inc. 
• Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc.
• Philex Petroleum Corporation
• Philippine Realty & Holdings Corporation
• Semirara Mining Corporation
• Starmalls Inc. 
• STI Education Systems Holdings Inc.
• Vivant Corporation
• Vulcan Industrial & Mining Corporation

– Rappler.com