Bahraini investors are planning to open a $100 million Islamic financial institution in London. The British Central Bank has already granted the initiative an initial authorization, reported the Bahrain Tribune.
Another Bahraini group is considering founding an Islamic bank in Germany. With a total Muslim population of over a billion worldwide, the Islamic finance industry is estimated at $200 billion.
Islamic banking institutions offer financial products and services that conform to the Shariah (Islamic law). Islamic finance is based on the belief that the provider of capital and the user of capital should equally share the risk and the rewards of financing business ventures, unlike the interest-based commercial banking system, where all the pressure is on the borrower. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
