DMCC welcomes BGC as its first brokerage partner on the DMCC Tradeflow platform,bringing innovation and efficiency to the trading of Commodity Murabaha and to further promote Dubai as a hub for Islamic finance
BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP) (“the Company” or “BGC”), a leading global brokerage company servicing the wholesale financial and real estate markets, and the DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodity Centre) today announced that they have entered into a partnership to promote a Sharia-compliant Commodity Murabaha mechanism. This marks the first agreement between DMCC and an interdealer broker to jointly market Commodity Murabaha on the DMCC Tradeflow Platform. Launching shortly, this partnership offers the trading community a faster, more efficient method of trading this niche financial product and promotes Dubai as the global centre of Islamic finance.
“We are delighted to partner with the DMCC and launch a Sharia-compliant Commodity Murabaha mechanism,” said Charlie Sleightholme, Head of Commodity Murabaha Business at BGC in Dubai, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). “While trading of this product has been in existence for some time, our joint offering brings a modernization to the process, offering speed, convenience and innovation to the execution of this popular product.”
Mr. Sleightholme continued: “We look forward to working with the DMCC to offer our clients an unparalleled service that places Dubai even more firmly on the map as a world hub for Islamic finance.”
“We are thrilled to offer an exciting, world class mechanism for the trading of Commodity Murabaha which we believe will garner significant interest from the trading community both domestically and internationally,” commented Paul Boots, Director, Tradeflow at DMCC. “We are delighted to welcome BGC to the DMCC Tradeflow platform. With BGC's premier global reputation, its relationships with top-tier institutions across the world and its leading electronic trading capabilities, we believe that Commodity Murabaha customers will see significant benefits in terms of efficiency and transparency. This, in turn, will continue to promote and assert Dubai's reputation as a preeminent global capital of Islamic finance.”
Murabaha is an Islamic financing structure, where an intermediary buys an asset with free and clear title to it. The intermediary and prospective buyer then agree upon a sale price (including an agreed upon profit for the intermediary) that can be made through a series of installments, or as a lump sum payment. Murabaha is not an interest-bearing loan, which is considered riba (or excess). Murabaha is an acceptable form of credit sale under Sharia (Islamic religious law). Similar in structure to a rent to own arrangement, the intermediary retains ownership of the property until the loan is paid in full. It is important to note that to prevent riba, the intermediary cannot be compensated in addition to the agreed upon terms of the contract. For this reason, if the buyer is late on their payments, the intermediary cannot charge any late penalties.