Islamic Finance Moving into the mainstream

With the planned launch of the first Islamic convertible bond in Malaysia and countries such as Germany issuing Islamic Eurobonds, Islamic finance is on the verge of becoming mainstream. Hardeep Dhillon explains why conventional investors should sit up and take notice

Ramadan, the month of fasting, may have slowed down Islamic banking activity during October, but it is hard to ignore the giant strides Islamic finance has taken in 2005 to become one of the fastest growing segments in global banking.

Although still considered a niche market, Islamic financing is booming. There are roughly 270 Islamic banks and financial institutions in over 25 countries with a total capitalisation of $13 billion, assets of $250 billion and customer deposits of $200 billion