Sukuk: Alternative Financing in Sri Lanka

| Friday, August 28, 2009
RAM Ratings Lanka’s one-day conference on Sukuk: Alternative Financing (“AF”) in Sri Lanka will kick off today at the Colombo Hilton.

The conference will bring together market participants, regulators and policy makers to discuss both the opportunities and challenges that this new financing option offers to both investors and businesses.

The conference will be officiated by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Mr Ajith Nivard Cabraal and the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Mr Udayasri Kariyawasam. In addition, there will be a panel of international and local speakers to share their insights and experience on AF.

AF has been rapidly gathering momentum in the last few years, from various corners of the globe. This industry is estimated to have charted an impressive annual growth rate of more than 25% over the past 5 years. According to Moody’s estimates, the global AF industry has the potential of reaching USD5 trillion. Not surprisingly, even economies such as the United Kingdom, France and Hong Kong are keen to participate in this expanding market, and have made provisions to nurture their respective AF segments.

In this context, Sri Lanka has a unique opportunity to position itself as the AF centre of the SAARC region. An increasing number of institutions are already offering Shariah-compliant financial services/instruments. AF is principally based on risk-sharig contracts. Consequently, profits are shared and losses are divided or borne by the capital provider, as specified in the respective contracts. This implies that the lender has to be convinced of the viability of the project, and hence discourages excessive risk exposures. Apart from prohibiting business activities that are deemed harmful to society, Shariah law (or Islamic jurisprudence) also ensures that contracts promote fairness and justice. This is an environment where everyone can invest and receive returns based on their morals, ethics and risk appetites. However, this financing option should also be complemented by a corresponding accounting, tax and supervisory framework to protect the interests of the investing public and stakeholders.

Link: http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=59158

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