Investors in the Gulf often assume that a stock listed at home must be halal. It is not that simple: each exchange lists conventional banks, insurers and other excluded businesses next to ordinary companies, and many otherwise good companies carry more debt or interest income than AAOIFI allows. The way to find the halal ones is the same on every Gulf exchange.
The same test everywhere
Sanad screens Tadawul (Saudi Arabia), the Qatar Exchange, ADX (Abu Dhabi) and DFM (Dubai) with the same steps used for US stocks: first the business activity, then interest-bearing debt under 30% of market value, then interest income under 5% of revenue. A company that passes all three is compliant. See the five-minute check for a worked example.
Banks: Islamic versus conventional
Banking is where the Gulf differs most from the US. Islamic banks such as Al Rajhi, Alinma, Qatar Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank are permissible on business activity, so the debt and interest-income ratios used for other companies are not applied. Conventional banks are excluded because lending and borrowing at interest is their core business. Several Gulf groups run both an Islamic and a conventional arm, so check which entity is listed.
Other exclusions you will see
Conventional insurance, and companies with a material share of revenue from alcohol, tobacco, gambling or similar activity, are excluded. Telecoms, energy, petrochemicals, retail and healthcare are usually screened on the ratios.
Why Gulf data needs extra care
Financial data for Gulf companies is less standardised than for US filers. Interest income is sometimes not reported on its own line, and currencies differ: the riyal, dirham and Qatari riyal are all pegged to the US dollar, which makes size comparisons simple. Where a number is missing, Sanad says so instead of showing a made-up zero. Our note on GCC versus US screening goes into the data problem in detail.
Where to look
The halal stock list groups every covered Gulf and US company by verdict, and each page shows the ratios behind the result. For a custom list, use the screener to filter by exchange, sector and size.
This is an automated screen, not a fatwa, and scholars differ on some thresholds.