IslamicFinance.de

Dubai Standard Chartered Saadiq is researching opportunities to expand into newly-opened Islamic banking markets such as Oman and Nigeria and is closely evaluating the opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
With the opening up of new markets in Mena and Africa, Standard Chartered awaites meaningful growth in the asset size of both Islamic banks and the Islamic banking operations of conventional banks.

Oman has finally bowed to the demand dynamics of Islamic banking.
The first application to launch an Islamic bank, Nizwa Bank, has already been submitted. This could take over a year because Oman must develop and adopt a regulatory and supervisory regime for Islamic banking and the government has yet to introduce an enabling Islamic banking law.
Omani banks have in general been very hostile and indifferent to Islamic banking, considering it unworkable. Some banking sources reveiled that the decision to allow Islamic banking was partly because of the growth of new demand especially from young Omanis for Shariah-compliant financial products.