An introduction to the Islamic finance industry and its key asset classes

Whitepaper

With the COVID-19 pandemic likely to affect the global economy, investors around the world are looking for alternatives to traditional investment and banking products. Demand for Islamic financial products is expected to rise as more investors demand increased transparency and ethical decision making from their financial institutions. The attached paper provides an overview of these products and sheds light on the significance of Shari’ah-based Islamic finance as an ethical alternative investment opportunity.

Key Takeaways

• With the global outbreak of COVID-19, investors are looking for safe investments
with greater transparency and ethical functioning, making Shari’ah-compliant products a
suitable choice.
• The Islamic finance industry has also provided significant returns on investments in recent years,
together with transparent distribution, and ensured prudent spending of wealth, making it an
attractive investment destination amid the current market conditions.
• Of the Islamic financial products, Sukuk and Islamic banking are expected to witness
the most growth in the near future through innovative forms and structures such as green
Sukuk used to finance environmental projects or sustainable development projects.
• The Islamic finance industry is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as fintech disruption and
focus on ESG factors present new growth opportunities.

Authors

Mohit Jain

Delivery Manager

Mohit Jain is associated with Acuity Knowledge Partners since 2011 and has worked with clients of diversified geographies in investment banking domain during the tenure including North America, Europe, Asia and Middle East. An expert in financial modelling and valuations, Mohit has strong experience working across sectors including TMT, Real Estate, FIG, Consumer and O&G among others. With hands on experience in the M&A domain, he has supported clients on a wide range of products such as financial modelling, case studies, industry research, transactions, comps, pitch books, profiles and deal origination, to list a few. He also possesses significant exposure to Middle East markets and Islamic Finance industry, having worked with regional clients over the years. Mohit holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University and an MBA from IILM, New Delhi.

Deepika Khullar

Delivery Manager

Deepika Khullar has over 7 years of experience in research and consulting industry. At Acuity Knowledge Partners, she is a part of the Investment Banking division, currently supporting clients in the Middle East region across areas such as industry and business research and capital markets. During her tenure at Acuity, Deepika has worked with leading investment banks across the US, Middle East and Asia. Her expertise lies in the area of originations support, preparing industry focused-reports, Thematics, IMs etc and has a good understanding of and Islamic finance. She holds a B.Com (Hon.) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University and an MBA with a specialization in Finance from Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute Of Management.

An introduction to the Islamic finance industry and its key asset classes