Opalesque Exclusive: Developments in Islamic Finance (1)

Alternative Market Briefing

Opalesque Exclusive: Developments in Islamic Finance (1)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque London, reports for Opalesque’s free daily Islamic Finance Briefing (subscribe here).

Quite a few firms are looking at creating Shariah-compliant products to attract the cash-rich Islamic investor’s community, as well as non-Islamic investors looking for less-risky alternatives. And despite the few challenges that it is facing, the Islamic finance industry is continuing on the road to self-development.

Islamic finance comprises any investment that is compliant with the Islamic Shariah law. According to ACCA’s Aziz Tayyebi, the current growth in Islamic finance is increasingly being seen outside the traditional markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Malaysia which has meant that global market participants and policy makers are increasingly paying attention to its potential. The UK Government has also played a major role in trying to make the City of London the global centre of Islamic finance by extending support wherever possible, including the abolition of double stamp duty on Islamic mortgages, and the recently announced plans to test the feasibility of issuing Shari’ah-compliant sukuk bonds (aka Islamic bonds).

Among the most recent new ventures, Barclay Capital last month was in the process of launching a Shariah-compliant hedge fund platform along with Sharia ......................

To view our full article Click here