ISTANBUL
The global banking crises was good oportunity for Islamic banking , a community based system which does not use payment of interest, to become an alternative to conventional banking however the market is still small, said Azmi Omar, director general of Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI), an affiliate of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) .
Speaking at the ninth International Conference on Islamic Economies and Finance which began in Istanbul on Monday Omar said; "If you look back at 2008, 2009 people were not happy, they were demonstrating against their governments and the governments were looking for some alternatives. To me, Islamic finance can provide the alternative."
"Unfortunately" added Omar, "Islamic finance market is still small except some countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia but the rest are very small like one percent, two percent."
On the other hand, Omar highlighted that the trade between countries that already used the Islamic financial system grew, "from 20 to 50 percent annually" after the global financial crisis. Prospects for the future are good but to capitalize on the growth there is a need for more expertise, research and conferences on how to formulate policies to manage the expanded market.
"When the market expands do you have avaliable, ready policy? For example when you have a dual banking system, conventional and Islamic, how do you manage the monetary policy? So there are issues to be adressed."
-AA's work helps promote Islamic finance
Omar thanked AA for sponsoring the Conference, and said, "We are trying to promote Islamic finance in the world. What AA is doing coincide with our aim."
Anadolu Agency was the media sponsor of the Ninth ICIEF which was jointly organized in Istanbul on 9-10 September by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group through its Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), the Statistical, Economic & Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the International Association for Islamic Economics (IAIE), and the Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University as well as with the support of other stakeholders.
Anadolu Agency was the media sponsor of the Ninth ICIEF.
