Waqif in Hydar

In Hydar State Waqif refers to any organization engaged in production, the provision of services, charitable activities, finance, or trade. In practice it is synonymous with the legal person of a corporation in more mainstream Anterran law, however there are several differences. First a waqif must donate at least 25% of its profits back to the community, second while a waqif can freely sell shares: the waqif must limit it to 60% of the companies value, the waqif cannot give more then 40% of its profits away to shareholders, so called absentee shareholders have limited voting options, and waqif's with employees greater then 100 persons must reserve some shares for their employees, albiet there exists a special class of waqif where this rule does not apply. Thirdly the holder/holders of a waqif are assumed to be given ownership rights by the Sultan of Hydar and/or the local mosque who can revoke their holdings if they so choose. Hydari law specifies numerous classes of waqif and they serve to give Hydar a unique economy based on Islamic principles. To register a waqif one must create a deed which specifies the purpose of the waqif, the owner(s), and proof of liquidity. The waqif is then approved by the National Development Authority. waqifs with employees greater then 100 persons are required to host at least one party cell of the Sons of the Sultan. waqif's cannot register in areas deemed haram by Shari'a such as gambling, prostitution, or pornography.

Public Foundation
A public foundation, or بنیاد عمومی is a foundation that is owned by the Sultan, the Sutlan synonymous with the state. A public foundation can only be created with the order of the Sultan, and function for the broader public good. Public foundations are usually created in areas of great national importance, or industries that serve as building blocks for other industries - for example the steel industry or railways. Profits from public foundations are required to be reinvested, or given to the state. Public foundations are supervised by the Royal Assets Commission and are often set various growth goals or quotas by the broader National Development Authority. Public foundations are akin to state owned enterprises. Hydar's largest waqif's in terms of value are all public foundations.

Private Foundation
A private foundation, or بنیاد خصوصی is a not for profit charitable foundation held by an entity other then the Sultan, including ones held by other functionaries of the state. A private foundation's primary motivation is in charity, the expansion of the sciences, or the doing of good deeds. The largest private foundations are primarily universities, or museums who hold many billions in assets. Next many businesses held by mosques or monasteries are under private foundations, for example most Hydari publishing houses are registered as private foundations. Many villages or cities are ran by private foundations. Private foundations are not allowed to sell shares, but instead give degrees voting rights to those who participate in their management. They usually have owners, however these owners are not allowed to count the monetary value of a private foundation in their total wealth, nor use any wealth outside of their salary. Instead these owners are assumed to gain wealth through their contributions to society. While one would expect private foundations to be quite small and limited, they play a massive role in Hydari society and engage in a variety of commercial activities. The existence of private foundations makes wealth in Hydar very hard to track, as many of the richest figures sink large portions of their wealth into private foundations as apart of philanthropy.

Township and Village Foundation
A township and village foundation is a foundation registered through an agreement between the local government and private persons. They may or may not be for profit, and usually engage in commercial actives. Control is based on their respective charter which usually gives agency to both the local government and private founders. TVFs are orientated towards the market economy and sale of commodities in most cases, usually selling lower margin goods to Gongsuos, Joint Stock Trusts, or Public Foundations. Many local governments in order to increase their economic growth are willing to accept charters without consultation, leading to a situation where a TVF can mean any lower level non familial enterprise located in smaller towns or villages. They are the least regulated of waqifs, however are usually forced to join into larger gongsuos if they expand past their local governments purview.

Gongsuo
A gongsuo refers to a network of enterprises or a syndicate with many branches and semi-democratic management. They are the largest business type in Hydar in terms of net assets - due to giving smaller Family Holdings and Township and Village Foundations bargaining power, and powerful gongsuos control most Hydari industries not under Family Holdings or Public Foundations. A gongsuo usually cannot be created but is assumed to be a continuation of pre-Hydari guilds. Control is usually vested in headman, often popularly elected or hereditary. Gongsuos are staffed by artisans and apprentices, or in other cases technicians and producers. Gongsuos are by far the most fluid type of Waqif, the only common theme being their dominance and large degree of focus in one industry and lack of singular owners - as they are usually part of the larger community - and both public and private in a sense.

Gongsuos serve the purpose of allowing smaller waqifs to compete with larger waqifs and the constant improvement of a craft through collaboration. Gongsuos also allow the clustering of supply chains and collaboration vis a vis suppliers - many of which are in the same gongsuo. Often considered an impediment, many have also raised the argument they are critical to Hydar's success since Hydari firms are able to compete on both quality and cost with tightly integrated yet fluid supply chains where ideas can flow freely.

Family Holding
A family holding is a waqif managed by a single family who engages in a type of craft. The family may hold an infinite amount of assets but they can only employ members of the family or at least 8 employees in certain sectors. The family holding is headed by the head of the household. The head joins a larger gongsuo who offers protection and distributes their goods to other waqifs. The family shares a stake of their profits with the gongsuo in exchange for entering into this relationship, although after 3 years they also acquire voting rights. The vast majority of production in Hydar happens through family holdings who collaborate through gongsuo networks. They allow production in Hydar to be extremely fluid, with these families often acquiring deep expertise in a certain field.