The Islamic banking seg­ment strengthened its position within Brunei Darussalam’s financial services industry last year on the back of rising demand that led to the launch of a new bank and major bond issuances. Having moved early to estab­lish shariah-compliant services, the Sultanate is now well placed to carve out a niche for itself as an international Islamic bank­ing centre.
However, the industry will need to address a number of chal­lenges, led by a shortage of skilled workers, if it is to fully support the segment’s development. In mid-October, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei (SCB) said it was mulling plans to intro­duce Islamic banking products this year to meet increased de­mand for sharia-compliant bank­ing services in the Sultanate………………………………………..Full Article: Source