A group of Islamic scholars have told Qatari investors that subscribing to the IPO of Vodafone Qatar, which will soon break the Middle East's last telecommunications monopoly, does not contravene Shariah law. According to Gulf Times:
Subscribing to the shares offered by the Vodafone telecom company will not contradict the Shariah, according to a fatwa jointly issued by Qatar's prominent Islamic scholar Dr Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and six other reputable scholars.
According to reports published in the local Arabic press, among the
salient points mentioned in the fatwa are that Vodafone in Qatar has
its own independent corporate status and is not in anyway linked to
Vodafone, UK.
Its area of activity is telecommunications which is an approved area of activity as per the principles of Shariah.
Its area of activity is telecommunications which is an approved area of activity as per the principles of Shariah.
The stock offering, open only to Qatari citizens and companies,
will be a test of the current IPO market in the Gulf
, and is likely to be the biggest Middle Eastern telecom stock offering of 2009. It values Vodafone Qatar at Dh8.5 billion (US$2.33 billion), and the 40%, Dh3.3 billion stake on offer makes it Qatar's biggest IPO since 2006.
