MEDIA CENTER

Shariyah advisory marks a decade of service

Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) is celebrating its 10th anniversary, considered as one of the hallmarks of the Shari’a Advisory profession. Mr. Yasser Dahlawi first established the firm 10 years ago, and in the last five years, SRB has intensified its dedication to serving clients by providing unlimited Shari’a consultation, Certification (Fatawa), Islamic industry jurisprudential foresight, and deep functional Shari’a compliance Audit expertise in order to help them succeed.

The company was established in Saudi Arabia & Bahrain when it saw opportunities to help Islamic Financial Institutes become more efficient in their Shari’a scholarly commissioning and Shari’a Audit processes. SRB now has a sustained record of innovation and impact in transactions for Shari’a compliant Corporate debt, Sukuks and Islamic equity markets, initial public offerings screening & Investment Banking Practice. It has also served as the Shari’a Advisor for a diverse set of Islamic banking and non-banking institutions, including securities firms, Shari’a compliant national banks, energy firms and information providers.

As the growth of Islamic Financial Products, Funds and Deals accelerate so does the demand for Institutional bodies like SRB who certify them from Shari’a Compliance perspective. The number of Islamic projects have been increasing at a phenomenal pace, so far SRB has completed more than 300 projects in the last four years alone, helping clients cover a wide spectrum of transactions ranging from Sukuks (including Trade Finance Sukuk), Private Equity Funds, Equity projects, Trade Finance transactions, Margin Trading, Real Estate Developments, Land Funds, ICT Deals, Money Market, Textile, Sports and Pharma Funds.

Yasser Dahlawi, CEO and the Founder of the company expressed his delight during the event stating “I take great pride in my team who are the heart and soul of our business. Immense credit goes to them for having moved SRB from a Shari’a boutique to a leading Industrial Shari’a Advisor with an expanding global footprint. We take this opportunity to appreciate our clients who understand and recognize the value of institutional Shari’a Advisors rather than individual scholars  – without their belief and partisanship this success would have never been possible.” “Our strong, consistent growth and our expanding scholarly global footprint over the last ten years are a real compliment to the people of our organization, ,” said Yasser Dahlawi.

Commenting on the event the Asst General Manager at SRB, Mr. Mansoor Ahmed, stated, “Our core focus is on delivering exceptional value for Islamic financial institutions and those seeking to tap the Islamic market by offering them unlimited Shari’a support, regardless of their location in the world. We have been remarkably successful in this by ensuring we attract, develop and retain the best possible team of professionals and Shari’a experts.” “We have marked the 10th anniversary with a special celebration dedicated to our staff, and it’s been a unique opportunity to reflect on our tradition of helping staff grow in the company and becoming the Islamic voice of our clients.” he said.

The announcement follows a strong performance in the third quarter of 2014 as revenues were 36% higher than the revenues during the same period last year, while witnessing a 16% growth in contractual revenue. Over the past ten years, SRB has come to successfully serve GCC’s most ambitious organizations. It currently serves 21% of the listed Co-operative Insurance segment for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 13% of the CMA licensed and regulated Investment Companies. Many of them also rank as leading financial organizations, but it also advises mid-sized businesses, organizations seeking IPO, and government agencies from a Shari’a perspective.  SRB has also managed to successfully expand its clientele portfolio to US, UK, Canada, France, Australia, Hong Kong, and Switzerland.