Manama: The growing financial markets of the Organisation Islamic Cooperation (OIC) represent unprecedented investment opportunities anywhere according to one of the main sponsors of the two-day Global Islamic Investment Gateway (GIIG), which opened on Monday.
“There is significant growth potential for the industry. For the first time in history in 2013, the combined profit of Islamic banks (also known as participation banking) crossed the $10billion mark – but there is potential for that to grow much more rapidly if the opportunities within the OIC markets can be seized,” Nida Raza, Director, Islamic Banking Centre, EY, said.
“EY is extremely upbeat about the opportunities, which the event will focus on with the profits of Islamic banks at an all-time high.”
“There are an estimated 38 million customers who bank with Islamic retail banks globally, but only a small number of these customers have fully transitioned from conventional banking to Islamic banking. With increasing trade and capital flows between emerging markets such as Turkey, Middle East and Asia Pacific, there is growing appetite to learn about Islamic financial solutions from clients and investors in these markets.
“Trade finance, mobile payment solutions and managing the cost of regulatory compliance will drive the next phase of profitability,” she said.