Wethaq's Smart Contract based Sukuk Platform Expands Sharia Capabilities with SRB

Jan. 22, 2019 - PRLog -- ethaq, a multinational automated Sukuk Platform, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Shariyah Review Bureau to help ensure all the digitized activities of its Sukuk Al Ijara targeted offers are in compliance with Sharia.

Wethaq has been working with lawyers trying to successfully demonstrate its PaaS (platform-as-a-service) flexibility and its strong multi-source management infrastructure. The solution is expected to be deployed in stages across several locations in the GCC to deliver optimize performance for Sukuks in multiple jurisdictions across the region. The Platform will also automate the implementation of integral Sharia guidelines while providing the essential transparency needed for a clear view of Sharia audit processes to both Sharia scholars and stakeholders.

Muhammad Al Sehli, founder and CEO of Wethaq stated "our system is designed to support key regulatory and Sharia supervisory requirements. Its ability to handle disparate sources of multiple-party functions such as custodians, registrars and issuers is expected to turn Wethaq into a prime solution for listing Sukuks for many institutions." "In helping to address the upcoming Sukuk optimization shift – driven by the demand for digitalization and automation – Wethaq remains the only Platform available to organizations serious about addressing the ever increasing investor demands for greater cost efficiencies" he added.

Dimitrios Vourakis, Chief Product Officer of Wethaq said "Our omni-channel platform will allow the Sukuk units to be stored, transferred and traded conveniently and securely while providing Islamic investors the ability to see real-time reporting and overview of the underlying assets." Commenting on the assignment of the Sharia Advisor he stated, "Choosing to partner with Shariyah Review Bureau, who have extensive Islamic industry experience and have worked with block-chain projects, not only meet our specific needs but also enables us to build a Sharia compliant Sukuk service that drives down cost and increase efficiencies and ensures that our auto-service for Sukuk'sissuance, listing and settlement are in compliance with important Sharia guidelines."

Managing Sharia Compliance is also a major concern for Sukuk issuances. The high costs associated with Sharia Boards and increasing complexity of the market-specific structures represent a major challenge for the Sukuk industry. This in addition to the multi-party costs and legal pressure these instruments are already subjected to. This is the reason why Wethaq believes that their smart solution will help issuers and investors draw on the tremendous potential of block-chain technology and smart contracts and reduce the multi-source costs across the Sukuk product.

Speaking of the new venture with Wethaq, Yasser S. Dahlawi, CEO of SRB stated, "We believe Wethaq has a unique set of smart solutions that can help scale-up the issuance and settlementpractice of the Sukuk market." Speaking on their disruptive business model he added, "they appealed to us because of their focus on building smart value for issuers and investors through a strong set of digitalized automated capabilities." "Their ability to close the loop for multiple parties and reward investors with reduced costs is commendable. This approach of Wethaq also aligns very much with SRB's own values in the Sharia advisory space."

"We are very excited to offer our Sharia certification services to Wethaq" stated Mansoor M. Ahmed, AGM at SRB. "We see their platform as the future of Sukuk's issuance and investors' convenience." He added, "Blockchain, Ether smart contracts, Tokenization and Artificial intelligence are all fast-developing realities and Islamic financial institutions should proactively look at leveraging these technologies to reduce costs and create superior experiences for their investors." Speaking about SRB's role as the Sharia advisor Mansoor added "We will be leveraging our Sharia scholarly expertise and Sharia audit capabilities to offer Wethaq a smart solution that matches the way they want to promote their sukuk solution globally."