Is Sea (SE) stock Halal?

Sea is a diversified global consumer internet company based in Singapore, engaging primarily in three core business segments: digital entertainment, e-commerce, and digital financial services. The company owns and operates Garena, a leading online games developer and publisher known for popular titles like Free Fire. Sea's e-commerce arm, Shopee, has rapidly expanded across Southeast Asia and Taiwan, playing a critical role in driving digital marketplace growth in these regions. For Muslim investors, though, the most pressing question is simpler: is Sea a Halal investment?

Is Sea Shariah compliant?

No. In the October 2026 screening Sea (SE) does not pass AAOIFI screening: it fails the non-permissible income and interest-bearing investments screens. For consumer companies like Sea, the products are rarely the problem; clothing, cars, travel and home goods are permissible. The exposure is usually financing: stores, inventory and expansion are often funded with borrowing, and the 30% cap that AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 places on interest bearing debt is the screen that decides most verdicts in this sector.

Does Sea pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: Sea currently fails the non-permissible income and interest-bearing investments screens, so the overall verdict is not compliant regardless of the business itself. The activity itself raises no Shariah objection; the scrutiny belongs to the financing.

Is Sea's income Halal?

No. Sea'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 Sea meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

Not in full. Interest bearing investments currently exceed the 30% cap, measured against a market capitalisation of $59.6B (market data as of 1 October 2026), while the other ratio stays within it. One breach is enough to fail the screening; the ratios are reassessed monthly under our Shariah Supervisory Board.

Why do other halal screeners show a different verdict for Sea?

Screeners can disagree without either being wrong. AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21, which Tabadulat applies, measures interest bearing debt and investments against market capitalisation with a 30% ceiling. MSCI and FTSE measure them against total assets with a 33% ceiling, and S&P and Dow Jones Islamic use a multi year average of market capitalisation. Data dates differ too, because each provider reads filings and prices on its own schedule. The same company can therefore pass one standard and fail another in the same month. Tabadulat publishes one answer, the AAOIFI result as of October 2026, and re-screens it 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 screening method? Read AAOIFI Standards Explained: What Makes a Stock Halal?