Is Liberty Global (LBTYK) stock Halal?

Liberty Global is a multinational telecommunications and television company. As one of the largest international television and broadband companies, its primary function is to provide cable and broadband internet services across Europe and Latin America. Liberty Global is known for its extensive portfolio that includes services like digital television, voice telephony, and high-speed internet access, impacting industries such as media, entertainment, and communications infrastructure. For Muslim investors, though, the most pressing question is simpler: is Liberty Global a Halal investment?

Is Liberty Global Shariah compliant?

Connecting people is a permissible business, so carriers and satellite operators like Liberty Global rarely trouble the activity screen. The exposure is infrastructure: networks are among the most capital hungry assets in any market, usually debt financed, and AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 caps interest bearing borrowing at 30% of market capitalisation, the screen that decides most telecom verdicts.

Does Liberty Global pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: Liberty Global currently fails the non-permissible income, interest-bearing investments and interest-bearing debt screens, so the overall verdict is not compliant regardless of the business itself. The service itself, carrying calls and data, raises no Shariah objection; the scrutiny belongs to the debt financed network behind it.

Is Liberty Global's income Halal?

No. Liberty Global's income from impermissible sources currently exceeds AAOIFI's 5% revenue ceiling, which makes the stock non-compliant on this screen regardless of the others. The screen is reassessed monthly, so the status can change when new financial statements arrive.

Does Liberty Global meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

No. Both ratios currently breach the 30% caps: interest bearing investments and interest bearing debt each exceed the limit AAOIFI permits for a Halal investment. The ratios move with the share price as well as the balance sheet, and our Shariah Supervisory Board has LBTYK re-screened every month.

Tabadulat is an ADGM regulated brokerage whose license covers Shari'a Compliant Regulated Activities, as the FSRA permission names them. New to the terminology? Gharar and Maysir, Sukuk, Zakat and purification are all explained in plain English.

New to the four screens? Read AAOIFI Standards Explained: What Makes a Stock Halal?