The UK bank is seeking a bigger share of the $60 billion market for sharia-compliant funds under management by globally standardising its securities services offering.
Islamic asset management
Islamic funds – those managed in compliance with sharia law – are an $84 billion-plus industry, according to AsianInvestor research, that is expected to continue to grow.
Dubai WorldÆs request to restructure its debt is likely to reshape the understanding among investors and issuers of who holds the upper hand when it comes to bond-like sukuk.
FTSE and the Stock Exchange of Thailand add the FTSE SET Shariah Index to the marketÆs benchmarks.
Islamic banks are not so different from their conventional counterparts, and this needs to be addressed, finds research from The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance.
The Malaysian $30 billion state pension plans to make all its portfolios 100% sharia-compliant and may reduce its performance target in light of prevailing low yields.
Four foreign houses with onshore operations are targeting sharia product launches after rules were relaxed, in a sign that the country is opening up. Regular mutual funds could be next.
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Standard Chartered has been named as Maybank Asset Management's trustee for the first sharia-compliant fund on the Asean passporting scheme. Questions hang over when it will be passported outside Malaysia.
Yasaar and FTSE plan enhanced Islamic indexing service in Asia.
Malaysia now has more sharia funds than Saudi Arabia, but is still second in terms of assets under management.
Prudential Fund Management Berhad raises $96 million for a range of eight Sharia funds in Malaysia, bringing the firmÆs Sharia portfolio to $242 million.
The market claims a critical mass of sharia experts and scholars who can advise on sharia compliance, and a pool of investment management professionals to manage Islamic investments. Part two of a four-part interview with Nik Ramlah Mahmood of MalaysiaÆs Securities Commission.
India-based Reliance Asset Management and Kuwait-based Global Investment House join three other international Islamic fund managers already licensed by the Securities Commission.