By Majid Al-Shabib
Riyadh-Mubasher: The expected rise in global interest rates will weigh on the total returns of Islamic banks, said Abdulrazak El Khraijy, head of Islamic banking group at the National Commercial Bank.
On the sidelines of the Islamic Finance Research Conference held in Riyadh, El Khraijy told Mubasher that the sukuk is one of the main drivers of Islamic banking industry, expecting the sukuk market to see an overwhelming response from investors in the next period.
Commenting on the weak sukuk trading, he said most institutions buy to hold the sukuk rather than trading them due to strong demand and weak supply.
“Investors will likely focus on the sukuk programmes in the next period amid the economic effects that require looking for new sources of liquidity,” he said.
El Khraijy added that the Islamic financing products and services are witnessing strong demand from investors.
The Islamic financing grew by 15% over the last five years and the total assets reach $1.8 trillion, he noted.
Translated by Abdul Maguid Aboshahla
