Shariah based consultancy service opens-to build Shariah “standards”

Business Reporter

Al-Dereai announcing the launch of new Islamic financial advisory service

DOHA: Bait Al Mashura has started operations to offer Shariah-principled financial consultancy services, including managing the initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and auditing.
The company, a private joint stock company with a capital of QR2mn, plans to create new Islamic financial products; develop Islamic financial indicators; build Shariah standards for investment funds, currencies and sukuk; and granting accreditation in Shariah auditing.
Saying that it was the first one in Qatar to offer consultancy in Islamic finance services industry, which is rapidly proliferating in the local and global levels, it is offering services to banks, finance companies, investment funds, Islamic insurance companies, brokerage houses and Islamic firms at all levels.
Though the scope initially is to target the Qatari market, Mashura, licensed by the Qatar Central Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, has kept options open on expanding abroad in view of the dearth of specialised Islamic financial advisors.
“The idea behind establishing a company specialised in the Islamic finance is to meet the financial institutions’ needs by closing the gap in the industry and respond to the requirements of growth and prosperity,â€‌ said Mashura general manager Osama Q al-Dereai.
Stating that the accelerated pace in the Islamic financial industry has created a vacuum in industry-wide systems, applications and supporting institutions, he said the need of the hour was specialised Islamic financial advisory as the industry has stated to expand with major global financial institutions and banks prospecting for Islamic finance.
Moreover, the idea of establishing Mashura came in the context of current developments in Qatar and globally, particularly in the Arabian Gulf, al-Dereai said.
He also said one of the objectives of the company to develop concepts of Sharia auditing for enabling Islamic financial institutions to possess their own auditing and automated systems.
Pledging to offer training and development, he said Mashura would also grant accredited certificates in supervision systems and Shariah auditing.
Asked whether it would tie up with Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), he said Mashura would explore the opportunity.
Its advisory board members include Abdul Aziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi, Al Mouhi Din al-Quradagi, Sultan bin Ibrahim Hashemi, Hamad bin Abdel Mohsen al-Mahmoud, al Dereai (all from Qatar); Abde al-Raziq Sayigi (Kuwait); Mohamed Daud Bakar (Malaysia); Yusuf Shebly (Saudi Arabia); and Abdel Latif al-Mahmound and Professor Abdel Sattar Abou Ghuda (Bahrain).
The economic advisers are Ali Ahmed al-Zubaid of Kuwait and Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad of Qatar, while the legal adviser is Hassan al-Marzuqi.