The Commission's Intermediaries & Investment Products Executive Director, Alexa Lam explained that facilitating the development of the Islamic investment market is a high priority.

"The introduction of Islamic retail funds gives added variety to our retail fund market and underscores the versatility of our asset management industry," she stated.

In support of the government's initiative to develop Hong Kong's Islamic finance capabilities, the Commission has been working with industry participants to enable the introduction of Islamic financial products to the Hong Kong market. It has also uploaded related educational materials to its website.

Islamic funds comply with the investment principles under the Islamic religious law of Sharia. The Sharia Principles preclude investments in businesses such as conventional financial services, alcohol, pork-related products, gambling, leisure and entertainment. Sharia principles also preclude interest bearing investments and investments in companies with unacceptable levels of debt.