ISTANBUL, Sept 28 (AFP) - The Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Indexes, a subsidiary of Dow Jones, Tuesday launched the first Islamic Market Turkey Index at an Islamic finance forum being held in Istanbul.
The new index, which joins more than 60 Islamic indexes in other Arab and Muslim countries, was created for investors who wish to invest according to Islamic guidelines, said a statement issued by DJIM Indexes.
"Turkey represents a well-developed corporate landscape among emerging countries, especially with Islamic investors who consider Turkey an interesting market," the statement said.
The 17-component index includes all stocks in the Dow Jones Emerging Europe Index that are traded on the Istanbul stock exchange and comply with the DJIM Indexes conditions.
Companies dealing in alcohol, tobacco, pork, defense and entertainment which are forbidden by the Islamic Sharia laws, are excluded from the index, the statement said.
The Index's free-float market capitalization is estimated at 4.2 billion dollars.
Turkey, a Muslim country but with strict secular traditions, has five Islamic financial institutions, known as special finance houses.
The three-day Islamic Forum, which opened here Monday, is addressed by some 60 Muslim scholars, academics, bankers and investors from 20 countries on issues related to the multi-billion-dollar Islamic finance industry.