Innovation and product diversification to drive growth of Islamic finance industry

Dubai – June 27th, 2010: The global Islamic finance industry has been forecasted to touch the AED7.3 trillion (US$2 trillion) mark in the next three to five years. However, Islamic finance has not reached even three percent of the 1.6 billion Muslims globally.

The growth of Islamic finance has been slow but steady. Industry analysts are of the opinion that the sector will witness growth in the areas of retail, consumer banking, small and medium sized enterprises (SME) commercial banking and investment banking towards the end of 2010.

“There has been a growth in Islamic banking among non-Muslim nations as they are more receptive. However, in the next five years, there will be more focus and participation from Muslim nations,” said Mohd Razif Abdul Kadir, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Malaysia.

As per market reports, demand for Islamic banking will come from consumer confidence in the markets. Early 2011 will see a return to normalcy across Islamic finance markets with a focus on innovation and exploring untapped segments. There would also be a greater push towards finding other areas such as fund management, which will attract much attention from the industry.

“Investors are shifting their preferences to more stable and well-grounded fundamentals. Innovation and diversification of our offerings is necessary as investors today are more cautious,” added Muhsen Mohammed Al-Haribi, CEO, Sorooh Investments.

-ENDS-

About TCF|NEWSWIRE’s (TCF News Wire - The Content Factory):

TCF|NEWSWIRE’s (TCF News Wire) is THECONTENT|FACTORY‘s (The Content Factory) news and information distribution platform: online, print, broadcast and social media (press releases, interviews). Our distribution services are used by companies and organizations looking to reach out to a global market. We focus our content broadcasting to the Middle East market (the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that include: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman and the Levant including: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq) in both Arabic and English languages.

TCF|NEWSWIRE's global online distribution circuit covers multi-language content publishers, news websites and broadcasters that target your specific audience. Our online circuit covers Asia, Europe and the Americas. The circuit is continually updated.

For more information, please contact:
Jean-Renaud Durbin
TCFNEWS|WIRE
Jeanrenaud@tcf-me.com