European Islamic Investment Bank Plc (“EIIB”), the first independent, Sharia’a compliant Islamic investment bank to be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK, sponsored a roundtable debate on Islamic investing held recently in Manama, Bahrain. The debate was hosted by International Fund Investment magazine.
The panellists participating in the debate included Jeremy Beswick, Head of Asset Management, EIIB; Saad Al Shamlan, CEO of Capital Management House; Zeeshan Ali, portfolio manager at Argent Financial Group International; and Bindesh Shah, founding partner of Amiri Capital. The debate was moderated by Simon Osborn, Editor - International Fund Investment.
The discussion covered a range of topics under the overall theme of Islamic vs. Conventional alternative investing and how the two are manipulated in the investment world. One key area of discussion focused on the mechanism of creating new and innovative Sharia’a compliant financial products and their likely acceptance by both conventional and Islamic investors.
The debate also looked at the current Sharia’a Counsel system and whether there was a trend towards more or less standardisation. Commenting on this, Mr. Beswick said, “The current situation of Sharia’a Counsels evaluating on an individual basis is actually very conducive to innovation. In a more standardised environment, the level of innovation possible may become restricted keeping the sector from growing to its full potential.”
At the conclusion of the debate, each of the panellists was asked where they thought the industry would be in a year’s time. Mr. Beswick predicted that, “Islamic Investing will continue to attract large numbers of investors, including those who traditionally invested in conventional financial products because they inherently provide greater transparency. This will entice providers to supply an ever increasing number of Sharia’a compliant investment products which are not meant exclusively for Islamic investors. This growth trend will be fed by the current high degree of innovation afforded to the providers of Sharia’a compliant financial products.”
