Islamic Finance: Post 2009 to 2010 and Beyond – A Sustainable Alternative
Dhafer Salih Alqahtani, Founder and CEO
Rusmal Partners
Dec 2010
After three decades of uneven and sporadic growth, the strength and health of the Islamic financial institutions (IFI) as an industry is well articulated by the fact that the industry is 430 IFI strong in 75 countries out of 195, with total assets exceeding US$1 trillion.
The industry continues to enjoy an impressive growth rate that hovers between 15% and 20% for the most part in the last decade when growth was accelerated. The humble start 30 years ago was to serve the Muslim population, which stands today at about 1.4 billion Muslims. The industry growth could have been exponential if each of the 57 Islamic countries established a true Islamic system under its central bank.
The asset management and fund industry has come a long way since it began in the early 90s. Presently, the number of funds exceeds 700 globally, with assets under management (AuM) touching US$500 billion for all asset classes.
In the 10 years of its existence, sukuk has managed to achieve total issuance of about US$24 billion in 2009. This number is expected to climb by 50% in 2010 to reach around US$30 billion, close to 2007 levels, in line with the expected growth in government spending during 2010 and beyond.
