London has a huge opportunity to lead in Islamic finance and in the sukuk market, the president of the Islamic Development Bank said.
“We have a real opportunity to recognise the potential of Islamic finance here in the UK,” Dr Bandar Hajjar said in a speech at the Sukuk Summit at the London Stock Exchange. “Both the UK government and the IDB are actively promoting this objective.”
The Islamic banking industry has grown at a double-digit rate over the last decade, reaching $3.5 trillion last year alone. But despite this growth, Islamic finance has typically been seen as a specialist or niche activity in the West, Dr Bandar said.
Sukuk – an Islamic bond, structured to generate returns for investors while adhering to Sharia, which prohibits taking interest – is a key part of the Islamic finance system. Total international sukuk issuances reached $95 billion in 2017, after achieving $85 billion the year before, a clear indication the industry is in its early stages and offers “enormous potential for growth” across the world, Dr Bandar said.
Britain is became the first non-Muslim country to issue a sukuk in 2014. Earlier this year, the UK’s Al Rayan Bank also became the first bank in the world to issue a public sukuk in a non-Muslim country.
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More broadly, the UK has become an increasingly important global centre for Islamic finance. Britain’s Islamic finance industry is now the largest of any OECD country, and there are already five standalone Islamic banks in the UK, along with more than 20 other banks that offer Islamic financial services.
“The potential for the future growth of Islamic finance is clear,” Dr Bandar. “London’s emerging role as a hub for Islamic finance is underpinned by historical links with Muslim countries. This will remain strong and get even stronger.”
Wayne Evans, adviser in International Strategy at influential financial lobby group TheCityUK, said that Dr Bandar's confidence in London's potential to lead in Islamic finance is justified.
"London is the premier Western centre for Islamic finance," he told The National. "As the world's leading financial centre, it is ideally placed to help to develop the market for Islamic finance and cater to the growing needs and ambitions of customers and clients in this space."
Brexit has led to concerns in some quarters that London's status as a global financial centre could be at risk. However, Mr Evans believes that the UK's imminent departure from the EU will have no bearing on its ability to realise its potential in Islamic finance.
"Brexit is essentially a European issue. It shouldn't affect the UK's relationship with the rest of the world," he said. "If anything, it will make London even more determined to build on its international business, and that includes Islamic finance."
The Jeddah-based IDB, with a subscribed capital of $33 billion, has a funding plan for the first six months of 2018 estimated at $2.5 billion, Dr Bandar said. Subject to market conditions, it will soon launch a benchmark sized sukuk issue, with the proceeds going to foster the economic development and social progress of its 57 member nations.
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
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