Islamic Finance and Economics

Russia Turning to Islamic Finance to Mitigate Effects of Western Sanctions

February 16, 2015

In an effort to mitigate the negative effects of sanctions on Russia by the United States and Europe imposed because of the crisis in Ukraine, Russian banks are moving to expand access to Islamic finance and to grow their expertise in sharia-compliant/compatible instruments.
Islamic Financial Sector Continues to Gain Ground in Egypt

January 14, 2015

Despite the abbreviated tenure of Islamist government in Egypt, sharia-compliant/compatible finance continues to grow robustly, currently comprising 20% of the country's commercial banking sector clients and projected to experience healthy growth in 2015.
Complex Connections Between Terror Funding and Islamic Finance Signal Caution

January 02, 2015

Concerns over the complex connections between Islamist terror funding streams and the global spike in sharia finance instruments are pushing international security and financial monitoring groups to intensify due diligence for investment and development in Africa.
Hong Kong Stays Committed to Becoming Islamic Finance Hub

December 17, 2014

Despite tepid growth in Hong Kong's sharia finance sector since the one-billion-dollar, sovereign sharia bond offering in September, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) continues to amend the territory's legal, regulatory, and taxation structures to make Hong Kong a global sharia-finance hub linking investors from the Mideast and China.
Sharia Compliance Beginning to Shape Online Internet Consumer Ventures

December 17, 2014

Internet consumer portals are demonstrating a trend toward the development of sharia-compliant products designed to capture market share among the world's 1.6-billion Muslim consumers, with MasterCard's new sharia-compliant debit card an indicator of the expansion of sharia-customized consumer options in travel, food, and lifestyle goods.
Sharia Banks Weakened by Poor Regulation, Low Profits

December 04, 2014

Global finance experts meeting in Bahrain at the World Islamic Banking Conference raised strong concerns about the weak regulatory standards, low profitability, and poor customer satisfaction reports in the sharia-compatible/compatible banking industry, despite remarkable growth in global sharia assets estimated at $2 trillion.
Sharia Law Is Going Global with Islamic Financial Products and Markets

December 03, 2014

The ongoing, rapid global expansion of sharia-compliant/compatible products in 2014, underscored by the sharp uptick in new Islamic sovereign bond offerings by Western countries such as the United Kingdom and Luxembourg, suggests the mainstreaming of sharia law into global finance markets.
Sharia Finance Expanding in Western Hemisphere

November 26, 2014

The expansion of Islamic finance to the Western hemisphere is gaining support from Brazil, with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce cooperating in efforts to grow sharia-compliant/compatible banking products and financial instruments in South America's largest and most populous country.
Slippery Slopes from Sharia Profits to Sharia Law in U.K. Push to Become Global Center of Islamic Finance

November 19, 2014

The push by British financiers and politicians to make London the world's global capital of the $1.7 billion Islamic finance market reveals the slippery slope from sharia-compliant finance to expanding influence for sharia law, as experts note that the U.K. as "a massively enabling environment for Islamic finance" has already begun to impact the U.K.’s legal system, with judges resolving disputes between contracting parties on sharia instruments by making decisions "in line with Sharia, so long as the relevant clauses do not clash with U.K. legislation."
World Islamic Economic Forum Becoming Global Platform for Islamic Competitor to Davos

November 06, 2014

The 10th World Islamic Economic Forum ("WIEF"), meeting in the United Arab Emirates, was touted by the WIEF's growing success as a platform for "Muslim nations" to influence global economic developments and as an alternative to the renowned Davos World Economic Forum.