Lunate has announced the launch of the Chimera Solactive GCC Shariah Dividend ETF, an income-focused ETF tracking the Solactive GCC Shariah Dividend Index. The ETF is designed to provide diversified exposure to high-dividend-paying companies across the Gulf Cooperation Council while maintaining Shariah compliance. The launch further expands the relationship between Solactive and Lunate and marks their first collaboration on a Chimera ETF.
The launch comes at a time when investors continue to look for equity strategies that combine dividend income characteristics with regional diversification. In this context, GCC equity markets provide access to a broad set of economic drivers across energy, trade, infrastructure, financial services, and domestic consumption. The region continues to benefit from ongoing economic diversification initiatives, sovereign investment programs, and favorable demographic trends, reinforcing the GCC’s position as a distinct regional equity market. For income-oriented investors, combining dividend exposure with a diversified regional allocation and a Shariah framework provides a differentiated, rules-based approach to accessing the market.
The Solactive GCC Shariah Dividend Index draws from the Solactive GBS investable universe for Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. From this universe, the index applies a Shariah screening process based on sector- and ratio-based criteria, with screening data provided by IdealRatings. Eligible securities must also exhibit positive last-twelve-month dividend per share and positive indicated annual dividend per share. To reduce exposure to potential yield traps, the methodology excludes the lowest-ranking 10% of securities by 12-month momentum before selecting the 20 highest-ranking names by indicated dividend yield, with buffer rules applied to help reduce turnover.
Constituents are weighted according to indicated dividend yield, subject to caps linked to free-float market capitalization to limit excessive single-stock concentration. Individual constituent weights are capped at the lower of 15% and 30 times the security’s free-float market-capitalization weight within the index universe. The index undergoes an annual reconstitution in May. In addition, companies that no longer satisfy the Shariah eligibility requirements may be removed from the index in accordance with the methodology.
The ETF was listed on 23 June 2026 on ADX under the ticker GCCDIV.
Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer at Solactive, commented: “We are pleased to support Lunate on the launch of the Chimera Solactive GCC Shariah Dividend ETF. The Solactive GCC Shariah Dividend Index combines dividend focus, a momentum overlay, and a clearly defined Shariah framework to provide investors with a differentiated way to access dividend-focused exposure across GCC equity markets.”
Sherif Salem, Partner & Head of Public Markets at Lunate, commented: “We are excited to extend our partnership with Solactive, as we grow our comprehensive suite of market and thematic ETFs with the launch of the Chimera Solactive GCC Shariah Dividend ETF on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The innovative new ETF is the first Shariah-compliant ETF globally to offer investors access to multiple GCC markets in a single dividend-paying product, offering investors a convenient way to gain diversified exposure to the region’s leading dividend-paying equities.”
