By Mohammed Idries
Riyadh-Mubasher: The implementation of Islamic banking in Saudi Arabia relies on the local economic position and expected demand from customers, said Khalid Al-Ageel, expert of Islamic banking.
On the sidelines of the Islamic Finance Research Conference held in Riyadh , Al-Ageel told Mubasher that 50-70% of Saudi conventional lenders implement the Islamic banking system. He expected this percentage to remain unchanged or rise slightly this year.
“Saudi Arabia ranks first globally in terms of implementing Islamic banking, and represents a destination for sukuk before global banks,” the expert said.
He added that the size of external bonds is ‘good’, noting that there might be international issuances in 2016 to maintain the local liquidity.
Fahad Al-Mubarak, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), said on Monday that the kingdom accounted for nearly 20% of the global Islamic financing industry.
“Besides banks, the kingdom has 30 companies offering Islamic financing products for retail and institutional clients, as well as 35 cooperative insurance firms,” the governor said.
Translated by Abdul Maguid Aboshahla
