During the recent past Sri Lanka has made remarkable progress in the Islamic finance industry and still has huge market potential for growth. The estimated market for Islamic finance in Sri Lanka is around LKR300 billion (US$2.3 billion). Market dynamism has been felt to promote Islamic finance in Sri Lanka and many financial institutions are setting up Islamic windows to grab opportunities at domestic level.
A brief snapshot of activities taken place in the Islamic finance industry during the year 2014 include:
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The Capital Market Conference was held on the 26th February to bring awareness about the capital market for Islamic financial instruments. The absence of capital market regulations for Islamic finance institutions will undoubtedly hinder the growth of this market segment, however continuous lobbying with the relevant authorities are underway to promote Islamic capital market.
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Sri Lanka Islamic Banking and Finance Industry (SLIBFI) Awards were held on the 27th May to recognize and reward Sri Lankan banking and financial institutions that contributed towards the development of Islamic financial products and services. This is the only local awards program that recognizes significant contributions by institutions as well as individuals to the Islamic banking and finance industry in Sri Lanka. This year’s awards ceremony was held for the third consecutive year and was attended by Shibly Aziz PC, the former attorney general, as chief guest.
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Richard Peiris Arpico Finance Company is the newest entrant into the growing domestic market of Islamic financing with the launch of a dedicated Islamic financial services unit on the 2nd June. Richard Peiris Finance is s a subsidiary of Richard Pieris & Company, a diversified business conglomerate established in 1932.
Imruz Kamil is the head of Islamic banking at Richard Pieris Arpico Finance. He can be contacted at
[email protected]
.