DUBAI: Countries as distant as central Asia and Africa are expected to use Dubai to obtain expertise and financing channels as they develop their Islamic banking industries, the head of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank said.
Over the last few years, the use of Islamic finance has been spreading beyond its traditional bases in the Gulf and southeast Asia to other countries with sizeable Muslim populations, such as Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
IDB President Ahmad Mohamed Ali, whose multilateral lending institution has 56 member countries, said Dubai could play a key role in this process. “We want authorities here to give channels to these countries who are less developed, to benefit from the special position of Dubai as a hub,” he said.
In January, Dubai’s government announced plans to become a global centre for Islamic business. “As the IDB we welcome such an initative — it is not just in the interest of Dubai but in the interest of the industry as a whole,” Ali said.
The AAA-rated IDB said earlier this month that it would launch a $10bn Islamic bond issuance programme in Dubai, a major boost to the emirate’s ambitions.
Ali said on Sunday that the listing of the sukuk programme in Dubai was in the “finishing stages”. He added that the IDB, which also has issuance programmes in London and Malaysia, planned to make public issues every year and also cater to a growing number of requests for private placements, most of them from central banks.
Reuters
