Last Updated Date: 21/01/2025
Trading in listed stocks is allowed in Islam if they follow Shariah principles. Stocks that meet these principles are called Shariah-compliant stocks. The main idea is to check if the stocks pass Shariah standards before trading. To understand the process of Shariah standards, read our full article.
Top 5 Stocks In Bangladesh By Market Capitalization
Our team has also conducted research on the top 5 stocks by market capitalization in Bangladesh and 2 of them (40%) were found to be Shariah Compliant as shown below.
| Ticker | Name | Sector | Market Cap (BDT) | Shariah Compliance |
| BD:GP | Grameenphone Ltd | Services | 447.08 Billion | Compliant |
| BD:BATBC | British American Tobacco Bangladesh | Consumer/Non-Cyclical | 189.92 Billion | Not Compliant |
| BD:SQURPHARMA | Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd | Healthcare | 190.85 Billion | Not Compliant |
| BD:WALTONHIL | Walton Hi-Tech Industries Plc | Consumer Cyclical | 151.22 Billion | Compliant |
| BD:ROBI | Robi Axiata Plc | Services | 148.76 Billion | Not Compliant |
Quick Overview Of Listed Stocks
GRAMEENPHONE LTD
Grameenphone known as GP, is the prime telecommunication service provider in Bangladesh. It has captured 46% market share by providing services to 74 million users.
GP is in a joint venture with Telenor and Grameen Telecom Corporation. Telenor based in Norway owns 55.8% share of Grameenphone and Grameen Telecom Corporation owns 34.2% and the balance 10% is held by the public.
The revenue generated by the company is from the below sources:
1- Revenue from Mobile Communication
2- Revenue from Customer Equipment
3- Other Revenue (commission and other income)
4- Lease Revenue 5- Other Income
Other revenue includes interest income amounting to 0.6 million which is not Islamic and other revenues are considered Shariah compliant.
As more than 99% revenue derived by Grameenphone is from permissible activities, its business sector is classified as Shariah compliant.
The stock has been further examined for financial ratio compliance and all the financial / accounting ratios were found to be within the threshold limits of Shariah equity screening.
The stock is classified as Shariah compliant and its Dividend Purification (DP) Ratio is 0.42%. Whatever income you earn from investing in this stock in the form of dividend, needs to be purified as per the DP Ratio (0.42% of total dividend received). No Purification is required if the income is from capital gain.
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO BANGLADESH
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange as well as Chittagong Stock Exchange is one of the leading companies in Bangladesh. The company is involved in producing tobacco products and cigarettes.
Manufacturing and selling of tobacco and its related products are prohibited in Islam.
The major revenue for this company is from sales of tobacco based products. Hence BAT Bangladesh is Shariah not compliant.
SQUARE PHARMACEUTICALS LTD
The company’s operating revenue comes from Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Square Lifesciences Ltd, and Square Pharmaceuticals Kenya EPZ Ltd.
Although the company is not engaged in non-permissible business activities, it earns interest income exceeding 5% of its total revenue. As a result, the sector is classified as Shariah Non-Compliant.
WALTON HI-TECH INDUSTRIES PLC
Walton Hi-Tech Industries Plc is a leading electronics and home appliances manufacturer in Bangladesh. The company holds a significant position in the market with an annual revenue of approximately BDT 66.37 billion in 2023. Its product portfolio includes refrigerators, air conditioners, and various home appliances.
Walton Hi-Tech Industries Plc generates its revenue from several sources:
1. Revenue from Electronics Manufacturing
2. Revenue from Home Appliances Sales
3. Other Revenue (including commissions and service charges)
We have reviewed the revenue segments and found the Interest revenue to be less than 5% of total revenue of the company. Hence, the company is deemed Shariah-compliant and has successfully met all financial ratio requirements for Shariah equity screening, with its accounting ratios within acceptable limits.
Please read this blog for more information: Shariah compliant status of stocks is Dynamic or static?
Download the Islamicly app for tracking any change in Shariah compliance status of stocks in Bangladesh.
ROBI AXIATA PLC
Robi Axiata Limited is a Bangladesh-based mobile network operator, primarily engaged in offering a broad assortment of networking solutions, such as short messaging services (SMS), general packet radio services (GPRS), international roaming SMS setting aside, multimedia messaging services (MMS), voice greetings and calling services.
ROBI AXIATA PLC generates its revenue from several sources:
1. Revenue from Mobile Communication Services
2. Revenue from Data and Internet Services
3. Other Revenue (including value-added services and digital platforms)
Upon reviewing the company’s revenue breakdown, we found that interest-based income constitutes less than 5% of its total revenue. However, ROBI AXIATA PLC fails to meet the financial ratio requirements for Shariah equity screening, with its accounting ratios exceeding permissible thresholds. As a result, Robi Axiata Limited is NOT classified as Shariah-compliant.
How Many Halal Stocks are There in Bangladesh?
Our Team at Islamicly has examined the Shariah status of stocks listed on Stock Exchanges in Bangladesh and found the below results:
About 39.4% of all stocks listed in Bangladesh are Shariah Compliant. The below pie shows the number of Shariah compliant stocks in Bangladesh. This gives enough scope to the Islamic investors in Bangladesh to trade in Shariah Screened Stocks.
Shariah Compliant Stocks in Bangladesh
Sector Wise Shariah Screened Equities In Bangladesh
We have examined the Shariah status of listed stocks in Bangladesh based on the sectors they are involved in. The below is the results.
| Sector | Compliant | Non-Compliant | Total |
| Apparel/Accessories | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Basic Materials | 15 | 18 | 33 |
| Biotechnology & Drugs | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Capital Goods | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| Chemical Manufacturing | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Chemicals – Plastics & Rubber | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Computer Networks | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Consumer Cyclical | 27 | 47 | 74 |
| Consumer Financial Services | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Consumer/Non-Cyclical | 19 | 13 | 32 |
| Electric Utilities | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Energy | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Financial | 15 | 92 | 107 |
| Food Processing | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Healthcare | 15 | 6 | 21 |
| Insurance (Life) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Insurance (Miscellaneous) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Major Drugs | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Metal Mining | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Misc. Fabricated Products | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Misc. Financial Services | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Services | 10 | 6 | 16 |
| Technology | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Textiles – Non Apparel | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Transportation | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Utilities | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Grand Total | 143 | 220 | 363 |
5 Years Shariah Compliance History Of Listed Stocks In Bangladesh
This is worth mentioning that we have studied the history of stocks and compared the Shariah compliance over the past 5 years. Let us have a look at the below chart:
The above graph shows that the changes in the number of Shariah compliant in Bangladesh over the past 5 years are minimal. It indicates that the Shariah compliant stocks in Bangladesh are stable and they have minimal Shariah compliance risk.
5 Years Shariah Compliance History of Stocks
Capital Market In Bangladesh
Bangladesh has two major stock exchanges:
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). Both are regulated by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)
1. Dhaka Stock Exchange
The main exchange in Bangladesh is the Dhaka Stock Exchange which was established in 1954. The exchange lists equities, bonds, mutual funds, Indices and other financial derivatives.
The indices that are available on Dhaka Stock Exchange are listed below:
1. DSEX & DS30 developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices
2. DSEX Shariah Index : DSEX Shariah Index Methodology by S&P Dow Jones Indices
3. DSEX Index
It is worth mentioning that DSEX Shariah Index plays a key role in fulfilling the Shariah needs of Bangladeshi Shariah sensitive investors. This Shariah index which has been developed by S&P Dow Jones to provide a Shariah compliant stocks benchmark. The index is the subset of DSE Broad Index and includes all Sharia compliant stocks and excludes non-shariah compliant stocks from the DSE Broad Index.
2. Chittagong Stock Exchange
CSE came into existence in 1995 where a number of Bangladeshi stocks are listed and trading in shares is conducted through computerized systems. The CSE also provides a Shariah index known as CSE Shariah index that is based on Shariah principles.
About Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a beautiful country housing 162 million people. Bangladesh was part of undivided India and became East Pakistan during the partition of India in 1947. It later separated from Pakistan and became Bangladesh in 1971 Alhamdulillah, the country has 146 million Muslims which is about 90% of the total population of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh shares its borders with India which is the 5th longest land border in the world touching Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and West Bengal. Melting Himalayan snow and the rivers flowing through the country gives Bangladesh a unique geographic makeup Bangladesh is a secular country that accommodates Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Bangladesh is known in the world because of the longest sea beach – Cox’s Bazar and world’s biggest mangrove forest in the Sundarbans.
About Islamicly
Islamicly App is a one stop solution for all your needs of Shariah Compliant Stocks Investments. Islamicly App provides the Shariah compliance information of stocks listed on Bangladesh stock exchange and Chittagong stock exchange as well as globally listed. The data provided by Islamicly App is the result of well researched, accurate information and 20 years of experience in the same domain.
It has a web/desktop version as well that has advanced features, detailed information and much more. In brief, Islamicly will help you in finding Shariah compliant stocks, creating portfolios, knowing stock prices in your local currencies etc. It will also enable you to calculate the purging amount to donate so as to clean your earnings and make them Halal. Islamicly will also alert you once a compliant company turns not compliant. Through this App, you will be a step ahead with the latest information about the Sharia compliant industry with the help of blogs published on a regular basis.
Team Islamicly also conducts AMAs and Webinars for FREE to educate Halal investors about the details of Shariah compliant investing. You are free to ask any questions for any stock or general Shariah investing rules through the forums and our research team will answer your questions. Isn’t amazing this app amazing? Just download on your smart phone NOW and start investing ISLAMICLY!
Islamicly also has a that allows you to manage your Shariah compliant investments on the web and has many more advance features. So, what you are waiting for? Download the app or access the web portal.
