MSCI Barra is expanding the MSCI Global Islamic Indices to include small-cap emerging market stocks and a set of frontier market countries. With the addition of 16 frontier markets, the total number of MSCI Islamic country indexes will rise from 53 to 69.

Index providers have targeted the Islamic investing world as an area of growth for benchmark construction, as both institutions, retail and government investors across the Middle East and in Southeast Asia assume a higher profile. Dow Jones recently unveiled its first Shari'ah compliant benchmark for companies in Southeast Asia, and the total assets invested in Shari'ah compliant indexes is growing sharply.

The enhanced MSCI Islamic index series will now include the MSCI Emerging Markets Islamic Small Cap Indices, MSCI Emerging Markets Islamic Investable Market Indices, and MSCI Frontier Markets Islamic Indices. Calculation of the new indexes is expected to begin on Nov. 26.

MSCI also published the MSCI Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries Islamic Investable Market Index.

"The expansion of the MSCI Global Islamic Indices to cover Emerging Markets Small Cap and Frontier Markets countries offers institutional investors deeper coverage of the Islamic investment opportunity set," MSCI said in a statement.