Islamic Finance and Economics

Globalization of Sharia Finance Reflected in Luxembourg Participation in World Islamic Economic Forum

November 05, 2014

The growing global clout of sharia financial services and products was on full display at the World Islamic Economic Forum (“WIEF”) held last week in the United Arab Emirates, as Luxembourg's Prime Minister and Finance Minister participated by signing new memoranda of understanding designed to expand the country's position as a European leader in the market for Islamic sovereign debt instruments.
New Islamic Online Platform Launched as Parallel to Amazon

November 05, 2014

Malaysia's Prime Minister announced the launch of a new Islamic online platform, zigzag.com, that will aim to capture the 1.6 billion Muslim consumers around the world, focusing specifically on halal (sharia-based) consumer products and services.
IMF Supporting Expansion of Sharia Finance

October 15, 2014

The International Monetary Fund's ("IMF") Interdepartmental Working Group on Islamic Finance met with the External Advisory Group for the first time since its establishment this past summer to begin cooperation aimed at bolstering the globalization of Islamic finance.
Sharia Bonds a Growing Asset Class in Global Finance

October 08, 2014

The expansion of Islamic finance and, more specifically, of sharia-compliant bonds as an asset class is attributable to sovereign and private investors who are seeking out what are perceived as high-yield, low-risk investments in emerging markets, according to financial experts in the Asia-Pacific region.
U.S. Interagency Team to Track Islamic State's Financial Sources for Violent Extremism

October 01, 2014

The U.S. government has established an interagency team tasked with tracking and staunching the global financing sources – derived from extortion and kidnapping, oil smuggling, and laundered money from charitable donations by wealthy Islamist donors – currently being used to fund violent extremism by the Islamic State (“IS”) in the Mideast and globally.
Sharia Mortgages to Get British Government Guarantees

October 01, 2014

The United Kingdom's only wholly sharia-compliant retail bank (Sharia Islamic Bank of Britain) has launched an Islamic mortgage-finance program that is also being backed by the British government's "Help to Buy" mortgage guarantee program.
Global Islamic Financial Forum Highlights Landmark Growth in Sharia Finance

September 17, 2014

The international financial institutions and ratings agencies attending the recent Global Islamic Financial Forum in Malaysia reported that 2014 was a "landmark year" in the continuing growth of a global industry of sharia-compliant/compatible financial products whose assets now total nearly $2 trillion and which is projected to experience robust growth over the next decade.
World Islamic Banking Conference to Explore "New Paradigm for Islamic Finance"

September 17, 2014

The upcoming World Islamic Banking Conference scheduled to take place in Bahrain will focus on the concept of a "new paradigm for Islamic finance in global markets," exploring regulatory, operational and risk transformation strategies for ensuring the global growth and market-share of sharia-compliant/compatible products and services.
Bahrain Tops Gulf States in Global Islamic Finance Ranking

September 10, 2014

Bahrain hosts the world's largest concentration of Islamic financial institutions in the nearly $1.7 trillion global Islamic finance asset market, and was recently ranked first among Persian Gulf countries by global consulting giant Thomson Reuters on quantitative and qualitative measures of Islamic finance development.
Global Islamic Finance Forum Lauds Malaysian Economist for Globalizing Sharia Banking and Finance

September 10, 2014

The Global Islamic Finance Forum (“GIFF”) lauded Malaysian economist and Islamic law expert Dr. Abdul Halim Ismail for his "visionary and pivotal role" in making Malaysia into a global leader in sharia-compliant/compatible finance and for his pioneering role in the globalization of Islamic banking.