The use of Sharia compliant loans is making in-roads with the private sector in Saudi Arabia which is favouring such products over sukuk issuances. »

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, is currently taking action, at both the local and international levels, to distinguish the country in the global Islamic finance markets. »

Large multi-billion dollar Islamic funding deals have been announced by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. »

Thousands of Pakistani households are turning to microfinance institutions which provide loans based on Islamic law, or Sharia. The following video courtesy of the Wall Street Journal looks at micro financing solutions in Pakistan. »

Malaysia continues to lead in the innovation of Islamic financial products with the recent launch of an Investment Account Platform (IAP) which is envisaged to become a cross border multi-currency channel linking into regional and global economies. »

The global Islamic fund and wealth management sector continued to experience growth due to the increasing affluence of investors who wish to invest surplus funds in a Shariah-compliant. »

Socio-economic justice which is one of the main features present in the Islamic financial system is critical in achieving financial inclusion. Financial inclusion helps to address slow investment growth, weak productivity and income inequality, exemplified by the present-day modest economic growth. »

Presenting at an Islamic Finance seminar organised by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce in association with the British Muslim Heritage Centre, Maisam Fazal of Al Rayan Bank, a fully fledged UK bank run in accordance with the principles of Sharia provided an overview of common Islamic finance transaction structures as well as outlining the banks growth plans into Europe. »

The Islamic finance industry’s geographical presence has grown beyond its traditional markets in the Middle East and South East Asia to include new players from diverse regions such as Africa, East Asia and the Americas. Given the bright prospects for the industry in these markets, it is likely that Islamic finance will continue to expand there. »

In 3Q 2015, total global Islamic assets under management (AuM) stood at USD60.2 billion. The sector is conservatively projected to grow by 5.05% per annum for the next five years to reach USD77 billion in value by 2019. This is substantiated by a number of facts, such as the average growth rate of Islamic funds at 9.55% per annum over the past five years. »