The Eurekahedge Islamic fund database has grown from its launch in 2006 to now encompassing information on more than 550 Shariah-compliant funds, keeping up with an industry that saw 131 new launches in 2007 alone. Despite this healthy growth, takaful-dedicated funds are few and far in between (with notable examples in Malaysia, Singapore and Bahrain). However, this doesn’t properly reflect the emergence of takaful and its importance in the overall Islamic funds industry.
The assets in global takaful operators have grown steadily, from an estimated USD500 million 1998, to USD2 billion in 2005, and projected USD7 billion by 2015. The sustained growth required to achieve this target is exemplified by the Malaysian takaful industry as seen in table 1 below.
