MANAMA: The Islamic financial assets globally reached US$2.1 trillion as of the end of 2014 and also got access to new markets, including various new destinations of European region, Korea, Australia, Brazil, Malta, China and many more, according to CBB official.
“Islamic asset management has come a long way since the late 70s when it began as a way for Islamic banks to make use of their excess funds. As with other forms of Islamic finance, the industry today is an area that has grown to become an increasingly substantial segment within the international financial markets and has gained significant interest as a viable and efficient alternative model of financial intermediation,” Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Baker, Executive Director of Financial Institutions Supervision at the CBB told the audience of 11th Annual Edition of the World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets (WIFFMC).
“Growing demand for investing in accordance with Shariah principles on a global scale have been the catalyst towards making the Islamic financial services a flourishing industry,” he said.
Titled ‘Building a Transparent and Robust Foundation to Facilitate Growth in the Islamic Investment Industry 2015’ the annual World Islamic Funds and Islamic Financial Markets Conference has established as an important event in the Islamic finance calendar.
“There are more than 800 funds globally that comply with Islamic principles, of which one third of these funds were launched during the past eight years. Sukuk is another Islamic financial instrument that shows a significant growth during the past five years. It was estimated that the global outstanding Sukuk reached U$ 241 billion as of the end of 2014, and it is expected to grow to US$907 billion by 2020. Actually, the year 2014 saw a revival in the global sukuk markets and we see more positive sign in 2015 due to gradual recovery of global economy, investors’ confidence which drives the demand for sukuk and a number of countries in Europe, Asia and North Africa are expected to launch their sukuk to fund their infrastructure projects.
“Overall, the prospects for growth in Islamic financial markets are likely to be positive. This positive trend can be attributed to the rapid expansion and increasing sophistication of the GCC financial markets, as well as the geographical spread of Islamic products and services that recorded outstanding growth in Europe, Asia Pacific countries, Middle East & North Africa as well as Central Asian countries.