SC Saadiq expands Islamic financial product beyond core markets

Standard Chartered Saadiq plans to expand its Sharah-compliant products beyond its core markets such as Pakistan, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Currently Standard Chartered Saadiq is the only international bank that covers all segments of Islamic banking ranging from retail, corporate and capital markets. Standard Chartered has operations across 16 African and 23 Asian countries. Analysts say the recent slowdown in growth of Islamic finance reflects more challenging economic conditions across a number of core Islamic markets. Despite the current challenges, the sector still has potential for further growth, especially in countries such as Oman, Turkey and Indonesia where the penetration of Islamic financing assets remain relatively low (between 5 and 10%) and there are recent initiatives supporting the growth of the industry.