Morgan Stanley to introduce Islamic indices

Morgan Stanley CapitalInternational Inc's MSCI Barra unit will create a ``global family'' of equity indexes complying with Islamic Shariah principles to meet demand from international investors.

The first group of indexes will be introduced in July and the full global index group in October, MSCI Barra said in ane-mail today. Shariah compliance advice for the indexes is provided by Dar Al Istithmar, a unit of Deutsche Bank AG.

Demand for Islamic investments is surging as record oil earnings spur Persian Gulf economies.

The worldwide Islamic finance industry's assets may have topped $1 trillion, the Malaysia-based Islamic Financial Services Board estimates.