Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: With an average annual growth of 18 per cent in Assets under Management (AuM), the global Islamic funds market reached at an estimated $200 billion.
This came the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, announced the launch of a Special Report on the Global Islamic Funds: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities.
This special report comes in succession to CIBAFI’s flagship publications, the Global Islamic Bankers’ Survey (GIBS) and the Global Takaful Survey (GTS) reports, with the view of filling the research gap measuring the pulse of the Islamic funds market. The report aims at presenting a point of reference for the industry to understand the Islamic funds market, its current practices, and its key opportunities, as well as the main challenges that may impede its growth.
In the last decade, CIBAFI’s report ‘Global Islamic Funds: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities’ presents a unique perspective of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) on the industry. The report offers broad coverage and in-depth analysis of pertinent concerns, novel prospects, and challenges that IFIs foresee in the future development of the regional and global Islamic funds market.
More specifically, the findings of this report will help stakeholders in deepening their knowledge of the global Islamic funds market, understanding current developments, navigating through the main challenges in offering Islamic fund management products and services, and leveraging on pertinent ideas and innovations related to global trends.
“As the voice of the Islamic financial services industry, it is important for CIBAFI to track and monitor all segments of this industry. Today, we highlight the global Islamic funds market to provide a look at recent developments, key trends, and opportunities that will shape the market in the coming years” Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, Secretary General of CIBAFI, told the panelists at the launch of the report.
“We hope that this report will provide valuable insights to the Islamic bankers and Islamic funds’ managers around the globe on the main challenges and key opportunities for the development of the global Islamic funds market.”
The online launch also witnessed a panel session that included a presentation on the main findings of the report and a discussion among industry leaders and senior Islamic finance experts on the contemporary practices, Fintech adoption, and ESG funds, among other factors that will enable the market to sustain its growth and attractiveness.
The panelists were Peter Casey, Consultant, General Council for Islamic Banks, and Financial Institutions; Ashraf Ammar, Director, Financial Services Consulting Services, PwC Luxembourg; Ms. Seçil SAYIN KUTLUCA, Senior Legal Expert, Capital Markets Board of Turkey; Mohamad El Masri, Director, Client Coverage, Shuaa Capital, United Arab Emirates; and Dr. Muhammad Bilal, Research Economist, General Council for Islamic Banks, and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI).
“This initiative is aligned with CIBAFI’s second strategic objective of Research and Innovation. CIBAFI continues to support the Islamic financial services industry through various activities and initiatives, including providing industry stakeholders with a platform to discuss emerging issues, representing the industry at major global financial events, and sharing knowledge through specialized publications and comprehensive training programmes.”
