TSMC becomes first Taiwan individual stock added to Global Islamic Indexes

Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturing giant expects more business opportunities from Middle East

TSMC becomes first individual stock in Taiwan included in Global Islamic Indexes. (Facebook photo) TSMC becomes first individual stock in Taiwan included in Global Islamic Indexes. (Facebook photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) became the first individual stock in the country to be listed in the Global Islamic Indexes of American finance company Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) on Thursday (Feb. 13).

According to the latest quarterly index review released by MSCI, Taiwanese stocks suffered a slight fall in both the Developed Markets Indexes and the AC Far East ex Japan index. However, TSMC was included for the first time in the Islamic index series, which is designed to measure the performance of developed countries' large and mid CAP (China, Asia, Pacific) segments relevant for Islamic investors.

To be considered for the Global Islamic Indexes, companies cannot earn more than 5 percent of their gross income from business categories prohibited by the Islamic world, including alcoholic beverages, tobacco, pork, adult entertainment, and military weapons. According to Yahoo News, there are currently 787 companies that have been approved in the Islamic Indexes.

Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Chairman David Chu (儲祥生) pointed out that the inclusion of TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, signifies that the Taiwan-based semiconductor giant has reflected the Sharia investment principles and will become an investment target for businesses from the Middle East. He added the increase in Islamic investments will largely depend on TSMC's internal operations as well as company strategies, reported UDN.