Ethical Investment Fintech Wahed Raises $25 Million As Demand For Islamic Finance Booms - Forbes | Canada News Media
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Ethical Investment Fintech Wahed Raises $25 Million As Demand For Islamic Finance Booms – Forbes

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Wahed, the ethical investment fintech for Muslim investors, raised $25 million in venture funding with proceeds being funneled into ensuring people can invest their money into a diversified portfolio consisting of stocks, commodities, real estate and sukuk, the latter being Halal-focused asset ownership certificates.

Sharia law forbids those of Islamic faith from paying or earning interest and engaging in what could be considered as unethical investments. The world’s 1.8 billion Muslims have until recently been underserved by the financial institutions in Europe, and this is where online robo-advisors like Wahed come in.

Fintech players that do consider Sharia law ensure that customer assets will not be invested in usurious companies that deal with tobacco, alcohol, firearms, gambling or pornography, which can also align with ethical, social and governance (ESG) requirements.

Conventional finance has a problem with transparency and fairness. There are 1,407 Islamic financial institutions globally, from retail to investment banks and asset managers. The 2017 ICD-Reuters report put the Islamic finance industry at $2.2 trillion of assets in 2016 and forecast that it would grow to $3.8 trillion of assets by 2022.

The funding round led by Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures, also known as Wa’ed Ventures, a venture capital investment arm of global petroleum and natural gas company and existing investors BECO and CueBall Capital, as well as Dubai Cultiv8 and Rasameel, is notable given the Covid-19 pandemic has destabilized private capital markets and decimated the fintech investment market.

But with ethical investment and Islamic finance growing in popularity and people taking an interest in securities that are in line with Islamic ethics, ensuring that usurious companies are not funded, Saudi Aramco were wise to invest in a fintech firm that has been dubbed the world’s first Islamic finance company.

“The Muslim investor has a specific requirement that prohibits them from keeping their excess savings in bank accounts,” said Junaid Wahedna, Group CEO of Wahed. “Banks utilize deposits to lend money for interest which is proven to increase inequality and cause an unfair advantage to the wealthier borrower, whilst charging a high interest fee for lower income consumers.”

Wahed has experienced incredible demand, not only in the MENA region but globally. With Saudi Arabia’s young population that are born digitally-savvy and practicing religion, the fintech organization have high hopes for development of the company’s subsidiary in this country in line with the KSA’s Vision 2030 that looks to be the investment powerhouse and thriving economy that connects three continents.

Since launching in 2017, Wahed was recently awarded the first RoboAdvisory permit by the financial regulator, the U.K.’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA), to launch its platform in KSA.

Tapping into the rising demand for Islamic and ethical investments, a sector that merges Sharia law and modern investment theory hasn’t hurt. Wahed have created an easy to use global platform, with free portfolio recommendation and no hidden fees, available through a mobile app and accessible in the U.S., U.K., and Malaysia. 

Wassim Basrawi, Managing Director at Wa’ed Ventures, made the following statement: “We believe in Wahed’s mission to provide ethical investing. The company has taken the lead in delivering investment services to one of the world’s fastest growing sectors – Islamic finance.

“Wahed is also, in the true spirit of fintech, helping to broaden the investment landscape. This latest funding round will enable Wahed to make Saudi their regional MENA hub and contribute towards a fast-growing fintech ecosystem.”

Wahed’s foray into Malaysia in 2019 bolstered their global presence, and the fintech firm now serves over 100,000 clients globally, with growth plans for the largest Muslim markets including Indonesia, Nigeria, India and the CIS.

Wahedna believes that they are paving the way for ethical investment in Islamic finance and showing the world how underserved the Muslim market is. He adds that there is no doubt that Wahed’s growth will motivate local players to launch similar offerings. “We welcome efficiency in our industry as the end customer should always win without having to pay an unnecessary cost for investing in line with their ethics.”

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Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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