Middle East leads region for Islamic banking and finance

Shariah-Fortune announces the release of its report that aims at providing information on the Global Islamic Financial Industry.

Shariah-Fortune announces the release of its report that aims at providing information on the Global Islamic Financial Industry. nt of the report, Shariah-Fortune has made available access to a database that records and documents all the geographic and business segments in the global market for Islamic Finance. Endeavoring to provide reliable and precise information on Islamic Finance utilized by the Islamic population, Shariah-Fortune grants its latest report. A recent research conducted by Shariah-Fortune screened around 810 companies in 50 countries worldwide offering Shariah compliant financial services. The Middle East covers more than half (around 56%) of the Islamic Finance market. Around 450 companies are located in this region. Leading countries are the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Asian companies compound to a market share of about 20%. In particular. Malaysia is one of the key players, not only in Asia, but also globally. 114 companies have been screened in Europe, which accounts for around 14% of the global market share. On top position in Europe is the UK, boosted by the FSA's regulatory initiatives. Compared to its global importance North America takes only a small part in the listing for Islamic Finance. Around 44 companies (ca. 5%) are located in the USA and Canada. Africa, Australia and South America are hardly represented in the Islamic Finance world and have only a marginal market share. Link:  http://www.cibafi.org/NewsCenter/English/Details.aspx?Id=3325&Cat=0