Islamic Banking and Finance Trend Update

Islamic financial institutions continue their strong run in international capital markets.  The practice of Islamic banking has changed dramatically over the past few years.  As a niche industry in many small countries, the industry has reached beyond respective domestic markets all over the world.  Increasingly, these financial institutions are looking to non-Muslims as clients beyond the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia.  Legal frameworks are adapting to a new era of Islamic finance, not only in Muslim nations but increasingly to other regions of the world.

Islamic banks are venturing into other areas of high finance, including corporate banking and more sophisticated types of investment banking.  New divisions within these banks are offering specialized products to meet the needs for more sophisticated financial investments still compliant with Shari’ah law.

Several governments in the gulf are continuing efforts to become controlling shareholders in rising Islamic financial institutions.  These controlling stakes have led to enhanced linkages across Asia and the Middle East.

Islamic banks are also looking outward and investing abroad.  With more international foreign investments, Islamic banks will be less dependent on oil revenues and interlinked in international capital movements.   

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Has the Dubai Property Market Reached Bottom?

The picture shown above is the Atlantis Dubai, a great example of Dubai's property bubble that has recently collapsed.  But has the property collapse in Dubai ended?

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World's Tallest Building tops out at 2648 feet

The construction on the Burj Dubai --the world's largest tower has topped out at 2,648 feet (818 meters).  Watch the video to see how tall this tower is.

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No Signs of Recovery in the GCC

No end appears in sight for a robust economic recovery in the GCC. This article illustrates how Dubai and Qatar are hard hit in the global economic recession. Oman was the only stock market to show positive gains. While the Middle East / GCC region is down, the outlook appears more vibrant than in Developed markets, with stock markets making gains in positive territory.

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Dubai's Property Market Collapse

This shows the degree of slowdown in Dubai's massive property market.  It further shows how highly leveraged many consumers are in Dubai and high degree of speculation in Dubai's property market.  In a blunt article by the New York Times, expatriates in Dubai are sharing ther fears about not only their property ownership (Freehold property), but also their futures in the city-state.  Many are fleeing due to these fears.  Other observations on the ground is that traffic is lower on key thoroughfares, a rare sight in Dubai.

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