Al-Shorfa.com : Size of Islamic financial services to reach $4 trillion by 2020

Size of Islamic financial services to reach $4 trillion by 2020

By Hamdan Al-Muhairi in Dubai
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-12-04

Islamic banks are expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. [REUTERS/Jumana El-Heloueh]

Dr. Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist of the Dubai International Financial Centre, predicted in a company report on December 1st that in 8 to 10 years, Islamic banks would handle 40 to 50 % of the total savings of the Muslim population.
He pointed out that the size of Islamic financial services would total $4 trillion by 2020, given the population increase in the Muslim world in addition to the strong, continued need and demand to finance infrastructure and major real estate projects.
UAE gross domestic product
UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed al-Mansouri predicted a 3% to 3.5% rise in the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Arab Emirates next year.
He said GDP would reach $272 billion, after dropping to $249 billion in 2009. Figures for 2008 were $254 billion, according to the Khaleej Times on November 27th.
The UAE's economic performance will likely be below other Gulf economies in 2010 given the continued refusal of banks to provide lending because of the debt restructuring for Dubai World Group, worth $23.5 billion.
Proceeds of the Hajj season
Tourism revenue from the Hajj reached $17.6 billion, according to the Saudi Ministry of Tourism in a November report. Revenues are expected to double by 2015.
The housing sector in Mecca accounted for the biggest share of revenues, followed by the accommodation sector in the holy capital and at holy sites.
Other major sources of revenue include domestic tour companies and organisations, followed by the transportation sector, the arbab al-tawaif associations and shops.
Remittances of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia
The International Migration Organisation announced Tuesday (November 30th) that Saudi Arabia ranked fourth in the world in total remittances of foreign workers, amounting to $15.2 billion or 3.7% of total global remittances in 2009, according to alwatan.com.
The organisation revealed there are 240 million international migrants worldwide who transferred $414 billion last year. The number of international migrants is expected to increase to 405 million by 2050, an increase of 68%.
The number of migrants in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries reached 15.1 million in 2010, an increase of 2.4 million people (19%) compared with 2005.
Central Bank of Kuwait
Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz al-Sabah, governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, said on November 26th that the central bank reserves reached $35.5 billion during October, the Kuwait Times reported. He said the total assets of domestic banks reached $145.4 billion. At the end of October the volume of assets grew at a rate of 2%.
Al-Sabah called on Arab banks to merge to enlarge their capital base and global reach. He praised Arab banks for dealing with the global economic crisis effectively while pointing out that the size of Arab banks is still small.
Central Bank of Oman
The Central Bank of Oman reported that the total value of money circulating in the Sultanate as of the end of October of 2010 amounted to $2.1 billion, compared with $1.9 billion during the same period in the year 2009
The value of increase was 6.5%, alrroya.com reported November 28th. The total amount of money circulating in the Sultanate as of the end of December 2009 amounted to $2 billion.
The bank held a session for the issuance of Omani Certificates of Deposit, bringing the total value of allotted certificates to $1.7 billion.

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