HSBC in Thailand, in collaboration with DataConsult, recently organised the Third Thailand Islamic Finance Conference. This provided an opportunity for both public and private sectors to explore Islamic finance as an alternative funding source for Thailand’s financial market.
The Thailand Islamic Finance Conference provides public sector officials, state enterprise directors, bankers, financiers and private sector business leaders with a better understanding of the opportunities offered through Islamic finance, an area seeing the fastest growth among the global banking and financial services sector. A focus will be the advantages of tapping the massive international ‘Sukuk’ bond market for infrastructure development financing.
Willie Tham, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC in Thailand, said: “By sharing our knowledge and global experience through HSBC Amanah, our Islamic banking arm, HSBC can act as a catalyst in helping Thailand’s financial players to access Islamic funds in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Shariah-compliant financing can prove to be a viable alternative to conventional banking and offers fund raisers the ability to tap into the wealth of Islamic investors.”
An HSBC report estimated the size of the global Islamic banking market to be US$650 billion - US$750 billion annually – and increasing at more than 15 per cent per annum. This makes Islamic finance one of the fastest growing segments in the global financial market. There are more than 300 Islamic financial institutions in and outside the Muslim world. Additionally, the global Islamic insurance (Takaful) market is estimated to be valued at US$14.4 billion by 2010.
Mr Tham added: “Islamic finance markets remain highly liquid and offer good investment and funding opportunities amid the current global recession. The outlook for this funding source is increasingly positive in Thailand, given that the public sector is reviewing taxation and trade regulations and other financial measures, which we believe would facilitate more Islamic finance transactions originating in Thailand. ”
HSBC Amanah is the global Islamic financial services division of the HSBC Group and was established in 1998 with the aim of making HSBC the leading worldwide provider of Islamic financial services. The Group is headquartered in the United Kingdom and has regional representative offices in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. HSBC Amanah offers a comprehensive range of Islamic personal and corporate banking services which adhere to the highest Shariah standards, as set out by the Islamic financial services industry.
