DFM rolls out updated Sharia standards

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has published updated Sharia standards in a move to bolster the regulatory framework supporting the Islamic capital markets sector.

The updated guidelines include the Standard on Shares, first issued in 2007, and the Standard on Sukuk, first issued in 2014, the bourse said in a statement yesterday.

Also updated was the Standard on Investment Funds draft that was circulated earlier this year.

The DFM became the world’s first Sharia-compliant exchange in 2007 and its standards, the first of their kind, thoroughly explain Islamic investment instruments such as sukuk, shares and green investment funds.

‘Playing active role’

“Since 2007, the DFM [has been] playing an active role in the joint efforts to further strengthen Dubai’s leading position in the Islamic economy sector,” Essa Kazim, DFM chairman, said in a statement.

“We have introduced numerous initiatives, including the creation of a favourable regulatory framework and standards that support the growth of this sector.”