INDIA: The country’s Shariah compliant funds fared better than the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex index last year; with the BSE TASIS Sharia 50 Index losing 5.25% compared to the benchmark’s 13.21% loss.
India’s Islamic funds Taurus Ethical Fund and Tata Ethical Fund lost -7.96% and -2.53%, respectively, last year – still better than the Sensex’s returns.
Meanwhile, Shariq Nisar, the director of operations and research at Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions, said that the small number of Shariah based indices in the country could grow around 20% in the coming years.
India’s Islamic funds manage a total of US$26.93 million-worth of assets, while its stock exchange lists around 1,200 Shariah compliant counters.