29.03.2012
By Simon Miller
London remains the leading Western provider of Islamic finance according to the latest research from TheCityUK.
According to the finance lobby group London leads the way with $19bn (£11.9bn) of assets.
The UK also benefited from a globally bouyant sukuk market in 2011, with issuance up 60% to $84bn.
"This was reflected in ten new sukuk listings on the London Stock Exchange’s markets in 2011 and two in early 2012," according to the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat executive director Keith Phillips.
He added: "There are now 37 sukuk with a combined value of $20bn listed on the London Stock Exchange’s markets. Additionally, seven exchange traded funds and two exchange traded products are also listed on these markets.”
Globally, Islamic finance assets continued to grow to around $1.3trn, 150% up from 2010 and the figures come a day after the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) launched a standard for Islamic derivatives.
In co-operation with the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), Isda has developed the Isda/IIFM Mubadalatul Arbaah (Profit Rate Swap) product standard to allow bilateral exchange of profit streams from fixed rate to floating rate or vice versa. The documentation provides product schedules based on two separate structures for transacting to mitigate cash flow risk.
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Islamic roundtable held to develop international standards
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions and the Islamic Financial Services Board hosted a roundtable on Islamic capital markets this morning to begin development of international standards for the growing markets. The hosts said that the roundtable represented a "significant step towards the development of international regulatory standards and best practices relating to the disclosure requirements for Islamic capital market products" and said the growing recognition of the increasing significance of the Islamic capital market, especially in view of rising cross-border transactions, "triggered the need for stronger oversight, greater transparency and more robust disclosure requirements".
Islamic capital markets look to international standards
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions and the Islamic Financial Services Board hosted a roundtable on Islamic capital markets this morning to begin development of international standards for the growing markets.
