FTSE Group and Yasaar Research launched 96 new indices that are designed to comply with Islamic Shariah law, comprising the FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series.

The new index series uses asset-based debt screening, a more conservative approach to Shariah compliance. This ensures that companies do not pass the screening criteria due to market place fluctuation, allowing the methodology to be less speculative and more in keeping with Shariah principles, the firms report.

The series comprises the large and mid cap stocks from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series and has been designed to be used as the basis of Shariah compliant investment products that meet the requirements of Islamic investors globally.

Mark Makepeace, chief executive of FTSE said, “There is a worldwide appetite for Islamic financial products and these new FTSE Shariah indices will provide Islamic investors with an accurate set of Shariah benchmarks, as well as help providers create structured investment products tailored to the global Islamic market.”

“The growth of the Islamic market is such that the investors have come to demand an availability of choices. The FTSE Shariah index series serve those growing demands in a transparent, timely and Shariah compliant manner, enabling the creation of products based on these indices which will give greater beneficial choice and thereby engender the Islamic finance industry generally,“ added Majid Dawood, CEO of Yasaar Limited and president of Yasaar Research Inc.