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]
Suggestions of a technical default on November 26 by UAE-based Dubai World have sent shockwaves through the financial world. Not only are creditworthiness concerns reaching boiling point, but global equity markets, too, seem to initially have gone into panic mode. Business Monitor’s Liz Martins and Terry Alexander discuss the implications of a debt default by… [Read more]
‘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]
