Could London be the global centre for Islamic finance?
As Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar compete to become centres of finance, London is steadily establishing itself as an alternative, writes
Julian Evans.
In London, amid the gloom of the global credit crunch, one topic is sure to bring a smile to the faces of the City’s down-trodden bankers: Islamic finance. While the sukuk market is as quiet as other bond markets this year, City players are still positioning themselves in expectation of a prolonged boom in sharia-compliant financial products. The Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah predicts that global sharia financial assets will grow by 20% per year from US$900bn to US$2tn by 2010. And a lot of that business is going through London.
David Lewis, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, says: “There are now 25 UK banks who provide Islamic products. There are five dedicated Islamic banks, nine Islamic funds, and one Islamic insurance company. There are 20 sukuk listed on the LSE. It’s a huge potential area of growth for the City.”
