Dubai-Mubasher: The value of assets in the Islamic finance sector is expected to increase by 80% over the next five years, reaching $3.24 trillion in value by 2020, according to initial findings garnered from the upcoming State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) report.
The report, which is commissioned and supported by Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre in partnership with Thomson Reuters, and in collaboration with DinarStandard, will be published ahead of the second Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES), which is taking place in Dubai this October.
The 2015 summit, organised by Dubai Chamber, the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and Thomson Reuters, is set to gather over 2,000 policymakers, thinkers and business leaders on 5 and 6 October 2015 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE.
The growth in the global Shariah-compliant economy is broadly measured by the value of Islamic Finance assets.
In 2014, Islamic finance assets had an estimated value of $1.8 trillion, with Islamic banking representing 74 % of total Shariah-compliant assets, followed by 16 % in outstanding sukuk based on ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI 2015).
According to Thomson Reuters’ projections, Islamic finance is expected to grow to reach $3.2 trillion by 2020, with Islamic banking constituting $2.6 trillion of this figure.
The total number of Islamic financial institutions operating globally has reached 1143, divided between 436 Islamic banks/windows, 308 takaful institutions and 399 other Islamic financial institutions, such as financing and investment companies.
As global acceptance of Islamic finance continues to grow, more corporates and non-Muslim sovereigns are announcing Islamic finance initiatives such as ethical or Shariah-compliant regulations, as well as products such as sukuk issuances.
This increased appetite demonstrates that the market is attracted to the benefits surrounding the ethical principles of Islamic finance, linking finance to physical assets, productive fiscal activities and real economic growth.
