Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia holds about 19% of global Shariah-compliant assets, said Dr. Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, governor of the Saudi Monetary Agency (SAMA).

It is expected that the Kingdom will "host no less than 25% of the world's Shariah-compliant assets by 2030," he added in a statement published on SAMA's official website.

"Shariah-compliant assets have undergone substantial growth in Saudi Arabia over the past decade. As of June 2016, 51% of the total assets of the Saudi banking system and 67% of its total liabilities were Shariah-compliant, the highest level among countries in which both conventional and Islamic banking products are widely available," the governor revealed.

In the past two decades, the Islamic banking industry showed a "far higher level of resilience than conventional banking during the international financial crises that we witnessed," the governor said.

It is estimated that Islamic finance has been growing globally at an annual rate of more than 10%, which suggests that Shariah-compliant banking might have more to offer the world than simply serving the needs of 1.5 billion Muslims around the globe.

All of KSA's 12 banks offer Shariah-compliant finance services, as do several of the branches of the international and foreign banks licensed to operate in the country.

Moreover, the Saudi retail banking sector is comprises a large number of Shariah-compliant products, which are expected to continue growing in the next 10 years, the statement added.

"The risk of a Shariah-compliant product is assessed and managed using the same principles of assessing and managing risks as a conventional one," Al-Kholeify stated.