On Cult Stocks And Mega IPOs, Bank Islam Malaysia, And Other Notes
Muslim investors — and not only investors — ought to follow principles instead of trends.
Buzz stocks rise and fall. Bumper IPOs turn into overhyped traps. Oftentimes there are business bigwigs behind them. SpaceX is a classic example. Elon Musk, who already boasted a considerable following, has amassed an even bigger one since the mega float of Space X that turned him into the world’s first trillionaire. But not everyone who shines is genuine, more so as far as money is concerned.
Elon Musk is a typical product of the ruinous capitalist regime that the US and its allies embody. Having amassed massive paper wealth through legalised market machinations, he has embedded himself into policymaking as a lobbyist for deregulation and a functional zionist re. all things corporate action, from platform X to satellite company Starlink.
A similarly controversial name is Palantir, led by eccentric CEO Alex Karp. Like Musk, he is a plutocrat who has internalised his company’s mission to protect the empire from make-believe enemies. War stock Palantir stays in the headlines consistently, its technology facilitating state surveillance and AI targeting, initially in Iraq and Afghanistan, later in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Now, western enterprise is a treasure trove of such inglorious tech bros and their unscrupulous businesses. As responsible investors, do we idealise them? We shouldn’t. Instead we stick with our own guiding principles for wisdom enshrined in the Islamic sources. Be it financial affairs or economic matters, wholesome tayyib — beyond basic halal — must be the goal across the board.
There are alternatives. There always are. The AI-infrastructure trades, for example, are incredibly crowded but most still have room to run. Semiconductors is an an old theme by now: here exclude military-tinged NVIDIA and include Taiwanese TSM along with Malaysia’s Inari. These Asian/emerging‑market names fit the same AI buildout but are cleaner from a tayyib angle. More on related themes, from data centres to memory and power — opportunities and what to avoid — in future posts.
The other big event of this month was the Iran peace deal (although the US may be at it again threatening the ceasefire). It was reached after a painstaking mediation effort, and the markets reacted with a rally. Just like they did at the start of the war, looking for potential winners of the conflict. As well as throughout the violent onslaught on Iranian civilian infrastructure — positively untroubled. This is a reminder that stock markets as institutions within a capitalist system are simply designed to seek to profit in any given situation — no morals or feelings involved — whatever the rogue empire decides to do to sovereign states daring to chart their own paths of development.
The Shariah is not a loose system limited to the spiritual realm. It never was; the claim was always the opposite. Unfortunately, the way it has come to be practised — as the foundation of Islamic finance and not only — makes it seem like it is equivocal about such fundamentals as truth and justice. It is high time we reverse the rot with principles that are comprehensively and veritably good, for the benefit of this ummah and the world at large.
I’ll finish on a more practical note which (re)introduces a halal dividend stock with an attractive pricing. I covered it originally in this post:
Bank stocks are loved by dividend investors. This holds especially true in emerging markets. The selection of Islamic banking stocks though is limited, with most concentrated in Muslim Southeast Asia and the Gulf. (And if you’ve read me before, you know why I hesitate to recommend investing in the latter.)
So the focus here is on Bank Islam Malaysia, the largest dedicated Islamic bank in Malaysia. Right now the stock is trading at its 52-week low of MYR2.12. The key question is whether the price has declined due to a fundamental shift in the business, or some market sentiment.
First off, the bank’s revenue has been growing steadily, from MYR3.6 billion in 2022 to RM5.1 billion in 2025. Total deposits, assets under management and financing have all increased; total assets grew by almost MYR8 billion. These are positive indicators of the bank’s health.
However, income appears to have suffered, affected by increases in three things: (1) impairment provisions as home financing declined and riskier personal/non-retail/vehicle financing grew; (2) personnel expenses due to human capital and digital initiatives; and (3) overhead expenses going into operational efficiencies.
Disciplined investing in all three areas is acceptable as long as it translates into better business — which till now has been the case for Bank Islam. Other local banks are also investing in growth, and they too are reporting higher overhead expenses.
Nonetheless, the market is somewhat cautious, and analysts are neutral with an average target price of MYR2.32. The stock may slide further in the near term and turn all the better for it.
Disclaimer: Nothing you read on Tayyib Finance constitutes financial advice. There is no guarantee of Shariah compliance of any particular stock at any particular time, since ‘Shariah compliance’ is fluid depending on the provider of judicial opinion and must be regularly affirmed. Similarly, there is no assurance that the same stock is simultaneously ‘tayyib’ (or Islamically ethical). Do your own research.