The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Alan Yarrow during a trip to Nigeria urged the country to consider all sources of finance as a means for attracting investment funds. In particular the Lord Mayor was keen to highlight the City of London role as a leading centre for Islamic finance and stated Islamic finance can provide substantial investment for Nigeria. He added Islamic financing wa... »

The increased participation of non-Muslim jurisdictions also reflects the positive acceptance of Islamic finance among the global community. Sukuk has drawn strong interests as an attractive source of funding and a new asset class. »

The signing of the memorandum will allow the two parties to launch joint activities and programs that help support economic development, opportunities, as well as to promote financial inclusion. »

As the Islamic financial industry continues to evolve and experience growth, it is also gaining sophistication in its appeal to demanding investors. As a prime example, Shariah-compliant Private Equity/Venture Capital (PE/VC) is an ideal model for Islamic finance as it represents the participatory modes of financing imbued with risk sharing concept. There is a very close relationship between conve... »

Indonesia could benefit from the winding down of operations among some Islamic lenders in Malaysia and Singapore. Bloomberg TV Malaysia's Sophie Kamaruddin and Cynthia Ng assess if Indonesia has what it takes to be the next Islamic banking hub in the region. »

In contrast to the current challenges of the conventional debt market, Pakistan was able to achieve a better reception for its Sukuk issued in November 2014. The 5 years issuance for $1bn was upped from an initial target of $500 million. The sukuk was five times oversubscribed with offers of 2.3 billion. »

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will host a side event at the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit on "The role of Islamic finance in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)". »

In what can be marked as one of the most volatile months, GCC equity markets reversed their direction and declined heavily in August. Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar all fell with negative returns of -17.32%, -11.60%, -10.47%, -7.04%, -6.93% and -1.88%, respectively. »

August was a challenging month for both GCC equity and fixed income markets as growing concern over slower economic growth in China, lower for longer oil prices, uncertainty surrounding the timing of a US interest rate rise and thin market conditions, resulted in a sharp spike in market volatility. »

Integration between the world halal industry and the global Islamic finance system is a huge developmental potential for the growth and expansion of Islamic economics in the world markets. Increasing demand for halal products from growing Muslim communities provides opportunities for Islamic finance to ensure a complete cycle of Shariah-compliant products and services. »