MARKET DATA FTSE/JSE SHARIAH INDICES The role of Yasaar
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON YASAAR LIMITED The Islamic system of financial management is faith-based, underpinned by the Qur'anic proscription on riba (interest) and gharar (intentional incomplete disclosure). As such, a core component of the Islamic system of financial management is Shariah compliance. Typically, Shariah compliance is determined by a Shariah Board, a committee of Islamic financial and legal experts established to ensure that the financial institution s practices and products offered comply with Islamic Law. The Shariah is the Islamic Canon Law derived from five sources The Quran( the revealed Muslim holy Book) The Sunnah(the practices and traditions of the Prophet Muhamed) Qiyas(Analogical deductions and reasoning) Ljima(consensus of Islamic scholars) Ljtihad(Legal reasoning) Company profile Yasaar Limited, a UAE/UK-incorporated company, provides pre-eminent independent value-added Shariah compliance solutions to the global Islamic banking, finance and insurance industry. Yasaar Limited is not affiliated to any financial institutions or investment organisations to ensure independence in compliance consultancy. In doing so Yasaar Limited continually contributes to the on-going development of the Islamic system of financial management. Yasaar Limited ensures that the Shariah principals are fully bilingual in Arabic and in English, while specialising in Classical Arabic and modern financial Arabic. Their services are aimed at the global finance sector and its related allied professions such as legal, auditing and accounting, trustees, custodians, ratings and listings agencies in North America, the UK, Europe, Middle East, South East Asia and elsewhere where Islamic finance structures are in place or required. Yasaar Limited offers, inter alia, the following services Shariah Compliance for Investment Funds (ex equities). Shariah Compliance for Financial Transactions Shariah Compliance for Equity Funds (including structure, stock screening, financial ratios, purification, general guidelines) Product Innovation and Development Shariah Reviews and Annual Audit Shariah Co-ordination Services Research and Development Principal Players and Shariah Scholars The principal players and shareholders in Yasaar Limited are Majid Dawood, the Chief Executive Officer, MIqbal Asaria, Head of European Operations. The key Shariah compliance scholars are Sheikh Essam Ishaq of Bahrain, Dr Yusuf Alshubaily of Saudi Arabia, Dr Mohammed Akram Laldin of Malaysia, Dr Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah and Dr Azan Hasan. These are all prominent, innovative and vastly experienced scholars of the Shariah, who have also developed a special interest in Fiqh al-muamalat over the last two decades. They are supported by a team of administration, research and marketing professionals, and additional Shariah scholars.
Majid Siddique Dawood Sheikh Dr. Abdul Satter Abu Ghuddah Sheikh Essam Ishaq An experienced financial services professional. A Director of BRR Investments, which was set up in the early 1980s with shareholders including JP Morgan Chase and the International Finance Corporation, and which is the manager of the first and largest Islamic leasing company in Pakistan. Formerly Pakistan Representative of Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia) Ltd and later Capital Markets Consultant to Credit Lyonnais and Jardine Fleming, advising on privatisation and financial market issues. A BA (Economics) graduate of University of Massachusetts. Dr. Abu Ghuddah obtained BA degrees in Islamic Shariah and in Law from Damascus University. He has an MA in Shariah and Hadith and his Ph.D. in Shariah and Comparative Fiqh from Al-Azhar University, Cairo. He is an active member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah and on the Shariah Boards of a number of Financial Institutions. He is also a Member of the Standards Board and Shariah Council of the Accounting & Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Dr. Abdul Sattar teaches Fiqh, Islamic studies and Arabic in Riyadh and has performed the valuable task of researching information for the Fiqh Encyclopaedia complied by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Kuwait. He is extremely well regarded globally in his capacity as a Shariah Scholar. Sheikh Essam Ishaq holds a degree in Political Science from McGill University, Canada. He is currently teaching Fiqh, Aqeeda, Tafseer Islamic Law and Theology, courses in Bahrain and is recognised as an emerging leader in the discipline of Islamic Finance. Sheikh Ishaq serves on the Boards of many financial institutions including Arcapita Bank, AAOIFI, and Al Baraka Islamic Bank. His other positions currently include Member, Technical Committee for Interpretation and Application of Standards, Accounting and Auditing Organisation of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Bahrain, Consultative Council, Kingdom of Bahrain (First Legislative turn).he is very active as an educator. Sheikh Dr. Yousef Alshubaily Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Akram Laldin Sheikh Dr. Aznan Hasan Sheikh Yousef is one of the newer Scholars in Yasaar s endeavour to create a cohesive group of Scholars. Sheikh Yousef is a teacher and educator at university level in Saudi Arabia and is advisor to a number of financial institutions and banks. He has considerable knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and has presented at many international forums, he spent a number of years in the United States and now resides in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Mohamad Akram is currently an Executive Director of the International Shariah Research Academy (ISRA) and formerly an Assistant Professor and Deputy Dean (Academic Affairs), Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM). He holds a B.A. Honours degree in Islamic Jurisprudence and Legislation from the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan and a Ph.D. in Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usul al-fiqh) from the University of Edinburgh. He is a prolific author on the subject of Islamic Finance and Banking as well as a presenter at many conferences worldwide. He is based in Kuala Lumpur. Dr. Aznan Hasan is an Assistant Professor in Islamic law and the former head of Islamic law Department, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia. He specialised in teaching Islamic Legal Theory, Islamic Commercial Law and Islamic Banking and Finance at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and serves as a Shariah advisor to various financial Institutions and corporate bodies globally. He is also a registered Shariah Advisor for the Islamic Unit Trust Schemes and Islamic securities (Sukuk), Securities Commission of Malaysia, is a Member, National International Zakat Organisation (IZO) Coordination Committee, established under the Prime Minister Department in Malaysia as well as being a member of the Shariah Board of Bursa Malaysia. Dr. Aznan Hasan received his first Degree in Shariah from University of al-azhar. He then successfully completed his Master degree in Shariah from Cairo University with distinction (mumtaz). He then obtained his Ph.D. from University of Wales, Lampeter, United Kingdom.
Certifications and Jurisdictions Yasaar Limited s services are accompanied by the relevant compliance certificates, and duly dated and certified by the Shariah compliance principals. These certificates, where required, may be further endorsed by a fatwa (Islamic legal opinion), given by the Shariah principals. At the 2004 Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum, Yasaar was the recipient of the Deloitte Consulting Malaysia s Islamic Finance Award for the Most Innovative Islamic Financial Product for the Caravan 1 Limited Sukuk. In December 2007, Yasaar was voted the Best Islamic Financial Advisory Firm by the readers of Islamic Business and Finance. Yasaar Limited s Shariah financial compliance principals have a proven track record of advising regulatory authorities, financial institutions, entities and individuals, in a number of jurisdictions including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United States, India, Lebanon, France, Germany, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Russian Federation, and Bahrain. FTSE/Yasaar Partnership The FTSE/Yasaar partnership began in January 2006, with the co-operation agreement to work together on the provision of index products suitable for the Islamic investment community signed in February 2006. This partnership materialised following the growing interest in Islamic investment vehicles, covering a range of asset classes. The first FTSE/Yasaar Shariah compliant index was launched in February of 2006. The FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series, which comprised of 96 Shariah compliant indices, including the FTSE Shariah Developed Index Series, the FTSE Shariah Emerging Index Series, the FTSE Shariah All-World Index Series, and FTSE Shariah Multinationals 150 Index, was launched on 30th January 2008. Yasaar Limited s Shariah financial compliance principals have a proven track record of advising regulatory authorities, financial institutions, entities and individuals, in a number of jurisdictions including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United States, India, Lebanon, France, Germany, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Russian Federation, and Bahrain. FTSE/JSE Shariah Indices The FTSE/JSE Shariah All Share, the FTSE/JSE Shariah Top 40 and the FTSE/JSE Capped Shariah Top 40 Indices were launched in 2007, 2008 and 2011 respectively. FTSE/JSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series Screening Methodology FTSE Group has developed an innovative joint venture with Yasaar Research Inc., to create a suite of Shariah compliant indices. Yasaar is responsible for reviewing the Shariah compliance of existing and prospective constituents of global, regional and partnership indices. Shariah credibility is determined through company screening on both a financial and business level. Business Activity Screening Initially, companies involved in any of the following activities will be filtered out as non Shariah-compliant:
Conventional Finance (non-islamic Banking, Finance and Insurance, etc.) Alcohol Pork related products and non-halal food production, packaging and processing or any other activity related to pork and non-halal food Entertainment (Casinos, Gambling and Pornography) Tobacco Weapons, arms and defense manufacturing Financial Ratios Screening The remaining companies are then further screened on a financial basis. The following financial ratios must be met for companies to be considered Shariah-compliant: Debt is less than 33% of total assets Cash and Interest bearing items are less than 33% of total assets Accounts receivable and cash are less than 50% of total assets Total interest and non-compliant activities income should not exceed 5% of total revenue Contact information Yasser Limited Liverpool Street LondonEC2M7QD, United Kingdom Phone: +44 (020) 7956 2014 FTSE Group 12th Floor, 10 Upper Bank Street, Canary Wharf London E14 5NP, United Kingdom Phone: +44 (020) 7866 1810 P.O.Box 506765 Dubai, U.A.E. Phone: +97150 655 2511 e-mail: info@ftse.com Website: www.ftse.com P.O.Box 506765 Dubai, U.A.E. Phone: +97150 655 2511 DISCLAIMER: FTSE is a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Group companies, JSE a trade mark of JSE Limited and both are used by FTSE International Limited ( FTSE ) under license. The FTSE/JSE Shareholder Weighted Index is calculated by FTSE in conjunction with the JSE. Neither FTSE nor the JSE sponsor, endorse or promote this product and are not in any way connected to it and does not accept any liability. All intellectual property rights in the index values and constituent list vest in FTSE and the JSE. The JSE has obtained full license from FTSE to use such intellectual property rights in the creation of this product. 2014 Compiled: May2014.