26th January 2022, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain | The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions has released today a Special Report on the Global Islamic Funds: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities. The report was virtually launched via a webinar.

This special report comes in succession to CIBAFI’s flagship publications, the Global Islamic Bankers’ Survey (GIBS) and the Global Takaful Survey (GTS) reports, with the view of filling the research gap measuring the pulse of the Islamic funds market. The report aims to present a point of reference for the industry to understand the Islamic funds market, its current practices, and its key opportunities, as well as the main challenges that may impede its growth.

In the last decade, the global Islamic funds market showed a remarkable average growth of around 18% in Assets under Management (AuM). CIBAFI’s report ‘Global Islamic Funds: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities’ presents a unique perspective of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) on the industry. The report offers broad coverage and in-depth analysis of pertinent concerns, novel prospects, and challenges that IFIs foresee in the future development of the regional and global Islamic funds market. More specifically, the findings of this report will help stakeholders in deepening their knowledge of the global Islamic funds market, understanding current developments, navigating through the main challenges in offering Islamic fund management products and services, and leveraging on pertinent ideas and innovations related to global trends.

The online launch of the report was inaugurated by Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, Secretary General of CIBAFI. Commenting on the release of the Report, Dr. Belatik said: “As the voice of the Islamic financial services industry, it is important for CIBAFI to track and monitor all segments of this industry. Today, we highlight the global Islamic funds market to provide a look at recent developments, key trends, and opportunities that will shape the market in the coming years. We hope that this report will provide valuable insights to the Islamic bankers and Islamic funds’ managers around the globe on the main challenges and key opportunities for the development of the global Islamic funds market”.

The online launch also witnessed a panel session that included a presentation on the main findings of the report and a discussion among industry leaders and senior Islamic finance experts on the contemporary practices, Fintech adoption, and ESG funds, among other factors that will enable the market to sustain its growth and attractiveness. The panelists included Mr. Peter Casey, Consultant, General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions; Mr. Ashraf Ammar, Director - Financial Services Consulting Services, PwC Luxembourg; Ms. Seçil SAYIN KUTLUCA, Senior Legal Expert, Capital Markets Board of Turkey; Mr. Mohamad El Masri, Director - Client Coverage, Shuaa Capital, United Arab Emirates; and Dr. Muhammad Bilal, Research Economist, General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI).

CIBAFI would like to express its appreciation to the report’s knowledge partners, DDCAP GroupTM and Bank Nizwa; supporting partners, Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and Omdurman National Bank; and associate partner, Safa Bank. The Secretariat would also like to convey its sincere thanks to all its members, survey respondents, the speakers, participants and media agencies from various sectors and countries for their active involvement and contribution to the success of the report’s development and launch.

This initiative is aligned with CIBAFI’s second strategic objective of Research and Innovation. CIBAFI continues to support the Islamic financial services industry through various activities and initiatives, including providing industry stakeholders with a platform to discuss emerging issues, representing the industry at major global financial events, and sharing knowledge through specialized publications and comprehensive training programmes.