The Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) Shariah Advisory Council (SAC), on 29 November 2013 has approved a new list of shariah-compliant securities based on the revised screening methodology.
Amongst the significant changes of the revised screening are:
- Conventional Income Level
- Conventional Debt Level
- Conventional Cash Deposit Level
Therefore, many companies listed in the Bursa Malaysia before are no longer categorised as shariah-compliant.
However, these companies are given 6 months (until 31 May 2014) to ensure they comply with the new criteria issued by the SAC.
For example, today, 13 December 2013, SP Setia has announced that the company has been re-listed after they have undergone the restructuring exercise.
SAC also stated that during the six-month period, dividends received and capital gain realised from the disposal of such securities may be retained by investors, and is classified as shariah-compliant.
As a shareholder, TH has taken pro-active steps by having discussions with the affected companies to identify ways of which they could be re-listed. TH’s Investment Panel, Shariah Panel and Board of Directors always monitor TH investment activities to ensure they are shariah compliant.
TH complies with all regulations issued by SC, and ensures that its investment activities are shariah based. TH has 6 months to dispose the shares until 31 May 2014.
These guidelines is available on SC website (http://www.sc.com.my/)