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Islamic finance comes of age
01 May 2009
With global financial markets in flux, Shari'a-compliant banking is an increasingly attractive option for Western investors and financial institutions
Management consultancy Arthur D. Little has identified a surge in activity around Islamic finance as a promising opportunity for the global financial services industry as it emerges from the current recession.
With Islamic finance assets currently standing at $800 billion, the consultancy firm expects this figure to surge to as much as $4 trillion in the next six years, representing a major opportunity for Western financial institutions looking to develop new partnerships and global markets.
Standard & Poor's global benchmark index of Shariah-compliant companies lost further ground over the first quarter of 2009, declining more than 6% as ongoing financial market disruptions, the liquidity crunch and slowing world economies continued to hamper market performance. However, Islamic investors continued to benefit from their lack of exposure to the underperforming financial sector.
The S&P Global BMI Shariah index, which measures the performance of...
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