UK moves forward on sukuk consultation

Moody's predicts that Islamic banks' assets will grow at a slower rate of 10-15% because of the global economic slowdown but will remain resiliant because depositors look at Islamic banks as focusing more on their role as an intermediary between savers and borrowers. Another article describes the UK Islamic finance market and the resiliency of the industry in the face of a severe economic crisis.

The Islamic finance media industry has seen good times recently.

Despite the announcement in the pre-budget report that the UK was not going to announce the imminent issue of its first sukuk, hopes for a sukuk are still alive. The UK Islamic Finance Experts Group (IFEG) met yesterday and HM Treasury is expected to release a consultation report on Islamic finance in January 2009.

The Islamic finance industry in Brunei is pushing the government to begin issuing longer maturity sukuk. While the country does not need to issue debt because of its large oil reserves, it began issuing sukuk in April 2006 with the aim of promoting the Islamic finance industry. New regulations of Islamic finance and takaful are coming into effect in the country.

Islamic finance expanding globally, including Brazil.

Are we all Islamic bankers now? Does the writer understand the difference between Islamic finance and zero interest loans?

First takaful institution approved for the U.K.

The first takaful company received approval from the Financial Services authority. The U.K. has 5 Islamic banks already approved by the FSA, making it the country with the most well developed Islamic financial services market in the West. The FSA published a description of its approach to regulating Islamic financial institutions, described as 'no obstacles, no special favors'. I covered the FSA description in the December 2007 issue of the IHI newsletter, available as a PDF.

Reliance Money will begin to offer Shari'ah-compliant portfolio management in India. Despite having a large Muslim population (13.4% according to the CIA World Factbook), Islamic finance has been slow to develop in the country.

Brazil, a country without a significant Muslim population, is interested in beginning to become involved in Islamic finance.

The Nigerian Central Bank is expected to issue a decision about the regulation of Islamic finance & banking in the country.

Ibrahim Warde, an adjunct professor at Tufts University, recently provided an explanation of Islamic finance to the newspaper at Dartmouth University in southern New Hampshire.