CBK: World\'s Islamic financial market swells to $1.7trn

Volume of the global Islamic financial market has reached USD 1.7 trillion, revealed the Central Bank of Kuwait Governor, hoping the Shariaa-abiding services will grow further and turn much more competitive worldwide. Volume of the financial Islamic services market, measured by assets' volume, has exceeded USD 1.7 trillion, making a record jump from only USD 150 billion in middle of the 90s, said Dr. Mohammad Al-Hashel, in a statement he addressed to the opening session of the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2013) that opened in Manama, Bahrain, on Tuesday. Number of financial institutions has exceeded 600, operating in 75 states, said the CBK governor in his statement at the Manama-hosted conference, excerpts of which were released in a statement, issued by the CBK in Kuwait on Wednesday. "Although such developments are encouraging, they remain short of what we aspire to with regard of the ambition to make more progress and growth in the Islamic financing industry and bolster this sector competitive status at the international level," Dr. Al-Hashel said. Dr. Al-Hashel was a keynote speaker at the convention, themed "transformations to boost international Islamic financing competitiveness." He was invited to the conference by his Bahraini counterpart, Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, considering Kuwait as a pioneer in Islamic finance services. In contrast to the positive figures reflecting growth of the Islamic financial markets,