Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is often regarded as having exciting potential for the Islamic finance market. The region is home to more than 250mn Muslims (over 15% of the world’s Muslim population) and the youthful demographics and under-banked nature of many countries add to the attractiveness. Aside from the obvious religious aspects (ie compliance with shari’a… [Read more]
Having surpassed the US$1trn mark, we take a look at Islamic banking and its outlook over the next couple of years. Liz Martins, Head of Middle East and North Africa analysis at Business Monitor International, discusses some opportunities and threats of an industry that is expected to double in size over the coming five years.
‘Islamic banks have withstood the recent turmoil in the global banking industry triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis because their rules do not allow dealings in products like derivatives, options or papers that caused the meltdown.’ At least that’s what I keep reading in the media. And it’s a fair point. If the credit crunch… [Read more]
