Reuters to launch Islamic finance portal

Financial services information company Thomson Reuters plans to launch a new portal early next year that could transform the Islamic financial industry.

Detail of the Islamic Financial Gateway were unveiled at the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)-World Bank annual conference on Islamic banking and finance which closed at the Crowne Plaza last night.

The portal, which will offer a wide range of real time Islamic finance information and date aims to improve professionals ability to access information, increase work flow in the industry to make it more internationally connected and open up the industry to conventional finance looking to use Islamic financial products.

'There are three major issues facing the Islamic finance industry that this portal has been developed to address,' said Thomson Reuters global head of Islamic finance Rushdi Siddiqui.

'Firstly it will reduce information search costs by posting data and indices in real time for a variety of product and developments.

'At present there is no global connectivity for the industry and this platform will be able to connect up players from across the globe so that Malaysian Islamic institutions can access what is going on in the GCC and Indonesian players will be able to communicate with events happening in the industry in Pakistan.

'Because of the improved access to information it will help to increase work flow in the industry with real time news across developments in all asset classes as well as provide data and analytical tools,' he said.

'It will also open up the Islamic financial markets to conventional financial players. At present the western financial system tends to be a bit wary of Islamic finance which it sees as lacking openness in reporting.

'The Islamic Finance Gateway will overcome this problem by robust, clear and crisp information about the global industry.'

'The feedback we have had so far has been very good, particularly because it is seen as getting everyone on the same page,' he added.

'Its further strength is that it offers third party input from global players like Standard & Poor's and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=MEDIA&artid=171930