Shariah Advisory Council

Last updated
Shariah Advisory Council
Founded2007
TypeIslamic Law (Shariah) Advisory Council
Location
Website arabcci.org/SAC_mission.htm

The Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) was established on 3 August 2007, by The Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the support of the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong. Its purpose is to help screen and certify as Shariah compliant Hong Kong companies that wish to transact business with the Islamic community. [1] This council is one of the first of its kind established in Hong Kong. [2] [3]

Contents

Islamic business

An approved Islamic or company must be approved by a Shariah Advisory Council to show that the organization is in compliance with Shariah. In banking, being Shariah compliant means interest is not paid on deposits or charged on loans. [4] Companies that wish to become approved must comply with Islamic laws regarding tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and other restrictions. [5]

Organizational leadership

The Shariah Advisory Council is made up of experts from various fields with the goal of ensuring companies applying meet the criteria for Shariah Compliance Approval. The council is most active in China and in Hong Kong with the cited goal of increasing Islamic banking and financial interests. The council can be used by interested companies, banks, courts, and arbitration centers to verify compliance with Shariah. [6] In 2015, it is estimated that trade between China and Arab countries will reach US$100 billion.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic banking and finance</span> Financial activities compliant with Islamic law

Islamic banking, Islamic finance, or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some of the modes of Islamic finance include mudarabah, wadiah (safekeeping), musharaka, murabahah (cost-plus), and ijarah (leasing).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sukuk</span> Financial instruments in Islamic law

Sukuk is the Arabic name for financial certificates, also commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. Sukuk are defined by the AAOIFI as "securities of equal denomination representing individual ownership interests in a portfolio of eligible existing or future assets." The Fiqh academy of the OIC legitimized the use of sukuk in February 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OCBC Bank</span> Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, abbreviated as OCBC, is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the OCBC Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election Committee (Hong Kong)</span> Hong Kong electoral college

The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states that "the Chief Executive shall be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with this Law and appointed by the Central People's Government ." It is formed and performs its selection function once every five years, even in the event of a CE not completing their term. The membership of the Election Committee was expanded to 1,500 under the massive overhaul of the electoral system in 2021. The Election Committee has been criticised for its "small-circle" electoral basis and its composition favouring pro-Beijing and business interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubai Islamic Bank</span> Islamic bank in Dubai

The Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is an Islamic bank in Dubai, established in 1975 by Saeed Bin Ahmed Lootah. It is the first Islamic bank in the world to have incorporated the principles of Islam in all its practices and is the largest Islamic bank in the United Arab Emirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries</span> Business trade body of Bangladesh

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries is the apex trade organization of Bangladesh playing consultative and advisory role in safeguarding the interests of the private sector in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIMB</span> Universal bank based in Malaysia

CIMB Group Holdings Berhad is a Malaysian universal bank headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group is an indigenous ASEAN investment bank. CIMB has a wide retail branch network with 1,080 branches across the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jing Ulrich</span>

Jing Ulrich, née Li (李晶), is Managing Director and the Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at JPMorgan Chase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Lam</span> Hong Kong politician

Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, GBS, JP is a non-official member of the Executive Council (Exco) and member of the Legislative Council (Legco), representing the Commercial (First) functional constituency. He is currently the vice-chairman of the pro-business pro-Beijing Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce</span> Nonprofit business advocacy group in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ around one-third of Hong Kong's workforce. It is a self-funding, not-for-profit organization that promotes and represents the interests of the Hong Kong business community. A core function of its work is to formulate recommendations on improving the business environment, which its 23 industry-specific committees constantly analyze and make regular submissions to HKSAR Government officials and policy makers.

Sharjah Islamic Bank, formerly known as the National Bank of Sharjah, is a publicly listed Islamic bank headquartered in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The bank was established in 1976 and in 2004 converted into a fully Shariah compliant bank. The bank provides Sharia-compliant products and services to serve individuals, companies, institutions, and investors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James E. Thompson</span> American businessman

James E. "Jim" Thompson, GBS is an American businessman who is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Crown Worldwide Group.

M. Arunaachalam is a Hong Kong–based businessman and entrepreneur, born and educated in India. He has previously been the chairman of The Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, and as of 2009, he has been a member of its General Committee. Arunaachalam is also the chairman of the Indian Chamber Fiftieth Anniversary Education Trust and the Disaster Relief Fund for India.

A Sharia Board certifies Islamic financial products as being Sharia-compliant. Because compliance with Sharia law is the underlying reason for the existence of Islamic finance, Islamic banks should establish a Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB) to advise them on whether their products comply, and to ensure that their operations and activities comply with Sharia principles. There are also national Sharia boards in many Muslim majority countries that regulate Islamic financial institutions nationwide.

Islamic finance products, services and contracts are financial products and services and related contracts that conform with Sharia. Islamic banking and finance has its own products and services that differ from conventional banking. These include Mudharabah, Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharakah, Murabahah, Ijar (leasing), Hawala, Takaful, and Sukuk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guosen Securities</span> Chinese Securities Brokerage

Guosen Securities Company Limited is a Chinese state-owned financial services company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with more than 70 branches and 11,500 employees nationwide. It has offices in 47 major cities in China including Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Foshan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong. Guosen Securities provides sales and trading, investment banking, research, asset management, private equity, and other financial services with both institutional and retail clients in China and Hong Kong. It also operates a trading platform called GuoXin TradingStation.

The Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ARABCCI) or (ArabCham) in Hong Kong was established in 2006 to promote commercial ties between Hong Kong and Greater China with the Arab world. The Arab Chamber of Commerce is a not for profit organisation, The President is Edwin Hitti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusni Hassan</span>

Rusni Hassan currently is a Professor and Dean at IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, International Islamic University Malaysia. Previously, she was a Deputy Dean at the Institute, a Coordinator for Research and Publication and Course Coordinator for Islamic Law of Transactions and Islamic Banking and Takaful. She was a Research Committee for Review of Islamic Banking Laws, Central Bank of Malaysia and an examiner for Financial Planner Association of Malaysia. Presently she is the examiner for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. She was a member of Shariah Advisory Council Bank Negara Malaysia and Shariah Advisor for Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia. She also served as Secretary for the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance Malaysia for 8 years starting from 2012 until 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shariq Nisar</span> Indian economist

Dr. Shariq Nisar is an Indian finance professional, academic and activist. He received PhD in economics from Aligarh Muslim University, one of the oldest universities in India. He co-founded TASIS, a shariah advisory institution, related to finance, based in Mumbai, that screens stocks for Shariah compliance. His first major work was the launch of India's first Shariah Index in association with the Bombay Stock Exchange. Later on he worked with the National Stock Exchange to launch Shariah index for them. He is advisor to Kerala Government's Islamic Finance venture Cheraman Financial Services Ltd. He also helped Government of India owned General Insurance Corporation of India establish its Retakaful division in 2009. During 2013 and 2014, he served as a senior visiting fellow at Harvard Law School. He was invited to share his views before the Select Committee of Indian Parliament on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill (2015). He served as a non-executive independent director at Octaware Technologies from November, 2015 to December 2018, India's first shariah compliant publicly listed company. Dr. Nisar has also authored various books in the area of Islamic Finance with International as well as Indian perspectives. He has been awarded Bharat Inclusion Research Fellowship 2020. Since 2017, he teaches a course at the University of Luxembourg.

Wahed is an American financial technology and services company based in New York City, New York. In July 2019, the company launched the first exchange-traded fund in the United States that was compliant with Sharia law. Wahed operates in 130 countries and has offices in Washington D.C, New York, London and Dubai. According to Bloomberg, it has a valuation of $300 million.

References

  1. "The Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry".
  2. "First Shariah Advisory Council" (PDF). aibim.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  3. "HK's Islamic New Year - Banking & Finance - ArabianBusiness.com". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05.
  4. "The Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry".
  5. Article title [usurped]
  6. "SAR shariah council formed - the Standard". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2011-06-20.