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A member of European Union and with one of the best financial infrastructures in the world, the United Kingdom is well positioned to play an important role in the development of Islamic finance and banking.
Market Size
There are around 2 million Muslims in the UK, with 50% living in Greater London.
Couple this with, 12 million Muslims living in the European Union, there is significant opportunity for Islamic financial institutions.
Key Developments
Aug. 2008: Royal Bank of Scotland (through its subsidiary ABN Amro) aims to capture a slice of the Malaysian Islamic banking industry.
Jul. 2008: The UK's first Shari'ah complaint Islamic insurance (takaful) company, Salaam Halal, is launched. Claims are paid out of a pool of funds, with any remaining funds in the pool paid back to policy holders in the form of lower premiums.
Jul. 2008: The UK's second largest City, Birmingham looks to become an Islamic finance centre. Growing Muslim population of 250,000, good connections to Dubai, and strong ambition are capturing the interests of key industry players.
Jun. 2008: British Treasury confirms its commitment to become the first western country to sell Islamic bonds. Record oil prices and projections (by Moody's) that the sukuk industry could reach $200bln by 2010 has ensured strong interest from the UK government.
Jun. 2008: Gatehouse, the newest Islamic bank, is launched in the UK. Gatehouse bank is owned by the Securities House of Kuwait, with Authorised Capital of £225 million.
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