Dow Jones Indexes Named Most Outstanding Islamic Index Provider

August 14, 2010

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced that it has been named “Most Outstanding Islamic Index Provider” by the Centre for Research and Training (CERT) in collaboration with Messrs. Hisham, Sobri & Kadir (HSK), the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) and the International Institute of Islamic Finance (IIIF). The objective of the award is to honor and appreciate Dow Jones Indexes’ efforts and significant contribution in developing the Islamic Finance sector.

“Our Dow Jones Islamic Market index series has become the global standard for measuring Shari’ah-compliant equities. Market participants world-wide highly appreciate our leadership and commitment to providing objective, comprehensive and reliable Islamic indexes,” said Michael A. Petronella, president, Dow Jones Indexes. “This award bears yet again testimony to Dow Jones Indexes’ cutting-edge indexing initiatives for the Islamic Finance market space.”

The award was issued at the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF), which is an annual event hosted by CERT in collaboration with HSK, AIBIM, MTA and the IIIF.

In the past seven years, the Dow Jones Islamic Market index series has won 21 industry awards by organizations, research institutions and magazines around the world; among them are the International Islamic Finance Forum, the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum, the Islamic Center of Southern California, Global Finance magazine, Islamic Business & Finance magazine, Islamic Finance News and Incisive Media.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes were introduced in 1999 as the first indexes intended to measure the global universe of investable equities that pass screens for Shari’ah compliance. With more than 100 indexes, the series is the most comprehensive family of Islamic market measures and includes regional, country, and industry indexes, all of which are subsets of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index.

An independent Shari’ah Supervisory Board counsels Dow Jones Indexes on matters related to the compliance of index-eligible companies. To determine their eligibility for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, stocks are screened based on their industry type and their financial ratios. Excluded are companies engaged in the following lines of business: alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, financial services, defense/weapons and entertainment. Also excluded are companies for which the following financial ratios are 33% or more: debt divided by trailing 24-month average market capitalization; cash plus interest-bearing securities divided by trailing 24-month average market capitalization; and accounts receivables divided by trailing 24-month average market capitalization.

There are currently more than 150 licensees with more than US$7 billion in assets linked to the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes.