Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I started on this journey while I was teaching international business transactions at a law school in southwest China in 2004. I presented two lectures on Islamic finance and am now happy to see that this form of finance is gaining a foothold in the Ningxia province in the northern part of the country.
I subsequently assisted a Chinese company establish an office in Pakistan. Upon returning to Canada, I embarked on a broad-based legal practice and ended up advising the Islamic Foundation of Toronto (one of the largest mosque and school complexes in Canada), the Chinese Muslim Association of Canada, private equity shops, mortgage providers and the Islamic wealth management teams of major financial entities.
What does your role involve?
Primarily structuring and advising on possible Shariah solutions within a system that is not designed to accommodate Shariah principles. That is not because the business community here is anti-Shariah, but more because of the fiber of the system, which is interest-based.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
After giving a three-day seminar on private equity in Kuala Lumpur, I returned to Toronto to assist in the unwinding of a fixed income product that had been improperly characterized as a Musharakah partnership. While I am usually more interested in ‘building up’ than ‘breaking down’, this project was necessary to preserve the relative purity of the Islamic finance experiment in Canada.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
At this point, it is Islamic wills, trusts and estate planning. There is a great need for this in the global Muslim community, especially in the western context. My short-term goal, before getting into long-term projects like Sukuk, would be to ensure that every Muslim in the Greater Toronto area who wants an Islamic will is able to get one at an affordable price.
What are the strengths of your business?
One of the strengths of this business is capturing a niche market in a virgin territory. As of today, there are very few firms in Canada with Shariah capability.
A Shariah advisory firm started in the city this year and it represents a synergy rather than a competition. A wealth management company has also started, and has designed proprietary software to screen Shariah compliant stocks according to strict economic metrics. Potential mortgage providers are in discussions with major builders and banks. As more companies come onstream into the Toronto market, there will be a much greater scope for our business.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
Muslims continue to migrate to Canada in large numbers. When they arrive, the first thing they usually do is purchase a home, with Islamic home financing or otherwise.
Once they have purchased a home, they usually look at writing their will, especially if they have young children. Then, if they do not find work at a company, they start their own business. We get them from the ground up, and have seen some astounding success stories come through the firm.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
The relatively small size of both our companies: the law firm and the finance arm. Our law firm focuses on Shariah compliant corporates, real estate, estate planning, endowment work and complex litigation. The finance arm, Broadwater Capital, is a start-up, and has much greater promise than the law firm as far as Islamic finance is concerned.
While ‘small is beautiful’ and allows one to be nimble, there are obstacles to getting retained by a sovereign or a large public corporation, if you are not backed by a major firm with several hundred employees. While we have excellent support staff, they are primarily involved in the non-Islamic aspects of the business.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in the next five years or so?
I see a growing divide between those in the industry mimicking conventional products and those engaged in the true letter and spirit of Islamic finance.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
An increase in private equity and venture capital. This can be done by firms that are generating huge amounts of cashflow from the ‘compromised’ side of the business, and injecting it towards the Islamic side.