Damatic gowth in iternational islamic crporate fnance market

The International Summit on Islamic Corporate Finance (ICFS 2011), which opened Monday in Abu Dhabi, saw leading Islamic bankers and corporate borrowers engage in innovative discussions that focused on boosting deal flow in the Islamic corporate finance space. The summit addressed how to capitalise on the increasing demand for Islamic finance from the business sector as a diversified component of their corporate funding mix. Held under the stratDegic partnership of Noor Islamic Bank, the two- day event was inaugurated Monday by a keynote address from Daniele Vecchi, Senior Vice President/Head of Group Treasury, MAF Holding LLC. In his keynote address he outlined the corporate borrowers’ expectations of Islamic corporate finance and provided insights into how Islamic finance can play an increasing role in the corporate funding mix, reported the UAE news agency WAM. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, David McLean, Managing Director of the International Summit on Islamic Corporate Finance, said analysis reveals that there has been dramatic growth in the international Islamic corporate finance market and many experts believe that this growth will continue to flourish as major economies in the Middle East and Asia, which are the most significant markets for Islamic finance, continue to expand trade and investment ties. Moinuddin Malim, Chief Executive Officer of Mashreq Al Islami said Islamic finance is quickly becoming an integral part of the global finance industry and has taken its roots in almost all of the Muslim countries but has also been under discussion and penetration in selective Western and Far Eastern jurisdictions. Over the last 10 years we have witnessed an increasing appetite for Islamic products & services. "Even post financial crises, the growth of Islamic finance outpaces that of conventional finance in our markets," he said.