The Philippines may be the bastion of Christianity in Asia, but Muslims represent a significant portion of the population and a growing economic force.
Elsewhere in the region, Muslims constitute a formidable investor base.
This is why in 2013, the Philippine Stock Exchange started a screening process for Shariah-compliant issuers. The creation of Shariah-compliant list at the PSE is expected to enhance the attractiveness of those in the list as investment options for investors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the global Islamic business community.
This is seen as first step for the Philippines to venture into the Islamic capital market and join the more than $1.5-trillion global asset class.
In the future, the PSE hopes to launch an Islamic sub-index, to better help fund managers who may want to launch mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on Shariah compliance.
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The Philippine bourse has teamed up with IdealRatings Inc. to screen companies for Shariah compliance in accordance to the globally accepted Accounting and Auditing of Islamic Financial Companies (AAOIFI) standards.
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.
