October 15, 2009

Dr Mohamed Nedal Alchaar, the secretary general of the AAOIFI, said the Islamic finance industry would grow by 10 to 20 per cent in the next three years but there were some obstacles to this growth have been identified.In a speech on Islamic finance, entitled Saviour in the downturn?", Dr Alchaar said a real concern was the lack of expertise within the industry.

However he also added 600 people have already graduated through a training scheme set up by the AAOIFI, to help combat this void.Meanwhile, a global survey conducted by BDO Stoy Hayward among 150 financial services, found many felt there was also a significant lack of demand among Muslims for Islamic finance, "which could reflect both scepticism on religious grounds, a lack of awareness and concerns about cost-competitiveness."