Islamic Finance Sector to Expand

The Islamic finance sector is set to become a US$2 trillion industry in the next three to five years from its current US$1 trillion mark in spite of the financial slowdown. Though the Islamic finance industry has enjoyed rapid growth over the past few years, a key challenge is to ensure that this growth is sustainable.

The 17th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2010), which will be held from 22 to 24 November 2010, will feature high-level discussions and debates on building a new growth paradigm and ensuring continued success for the Islamic banking and finance industry.

One of the key roundtable sessions at WIBC 2010 will feature critical discussions on the evolution of the Islamic finance industry and re-configuring business models in the new global financial landscape. 'For Islamic finance to move from its current US$1 trillion state to its deserved level of US$2 trillion in the next five years, the industry needs paradigm shifting changes,' said Thomson Reuters global head of Islamic finance and a keynote speaker at the conference Rushdi Siddiqui.

'We are observing and actively participating in interesting developments that will move global Islamic finance to that level - from bilateral to multiple liquidity, from fund registration to funds supermarket, from fragmentation to connectivity, from divergence to convergence, and from Islamic finance hub to transaction hub.

'The conference is an important event for Islamic finance in this context as it represents the global convergence of multiple stakeholders to create one interconnected transaction hub. 'As a knowledge partner, we look forward to sharing these insights and more at the WIBC 2010 event,' he added. – Trade Arabia