Shehab Marzban, member of the board of directors of the Egyptian Islamic Finance Association, said the value of Islamic investment funds in the world rose from US$ 30 billion in 2005 to US$ 60 billion at the end of the first half of 2012.
The USA and the Arab Gulf and European countries are of the most prominent issuers of these funds, while Egypt acquires very little value of these funds which is about US$ 100 million. The main obstacle facing Egypt in issuing Islamic investment funds is the misconception that says Islamic funds offers low return.
Marzban noted that only 30% of listed Egyptian companies are compliant with Islamic sharia law because companies do not know that many foreign investors are interested in investing sharia-compliant instruments. Therefore, EGX listed companies shall begin conducting sharia-compliant transactions in order to attract more foreign investments, Marzban affirmed.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s market has 112 investment funds; of which there are 74 Islamic investment funds with investments of US$ 14 billion.
