2020 was a brute of a year. When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, many around the world were bracing themselves for a crisis that could potentially paralyze finance, with flashbacks to 2007-2009.
As it turned out, our economies were in for a much, much rougher ride. Global GDP growth was -3.2% and the performance of the three most advanced Islamic finance jurisdictions (according to IFDI 2021) ranged from -5.6% for Malaysia, -4.1% for Saudi Arabia and -2.1% for Indonesia, says IMF data.
What is clear to us is how quickly some regulators moved in 2020 and 2021 to facilitate the expansion of fintech and digital banking after a few years of cautious foundation-building and sandboxing. In this respect, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE stand out. In these countries as well, Islamic financial instruments were utilized to help companies and governments reach their ESG and SDG goals, albeit at a nascent stage.
Access the full report to find out:
- Results for the Islamic Finance Indicator;
- Top performing markets;
- IFDI regional performance;
- Analysis for each of the major segments comprising the Indicator; and
- Islamic finance outlook.
Courtesy: Zawya
