Is Studio City International (MSC) stock Halal?

Studio City International is a prominent player in the leisure and entertainment industry, primarily focusing on casino, hospitality, and related services in Macau. It is renowned for owning and operating Studio City, an expansive integrated resort located on Macau's Cotai Strip. This resort is designed to attract both tourists and business visitors, offering a range of amenities from gaming facilities to luxury hotel accommodations, diverse dining venues, retail outlets, and family entertainment options. Before any of that matters to a Muslim investor, one question comes first: is Studio City International stock Halal?

Is Studio City International Shariah compliant?

No. In the October 2026 screening Studio City International (MSC) does not pass AAOIFI screening: it fails the non-permissible income and interest-bearing debt screens. Industrial businesses like Studio City International usually pass the activity screen without drama. The harder test is financial: heavy assets mean heavy financing, and AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 tolerates interest bearing debt and investments only below 30% of market capitalisation, ratios that shift with every move in the share price.

Does Studio City International pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: Studio City International currently fails the non-permissible income and interest-bearing debt 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 Studio City International's income Halal?

No. Studio City International'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 Studio City International meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

Not in full. Interest bearing debt currently exceeds the 30% cap, measured against a market capitalisation of $177M (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 Studio City International?

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?