IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Islamic investment firm Itqan Capital plans to expand its investment and advisory activities in the kingdom after it received regulatory approval to boost its capital. The firm will increase its capital by 100 million riyals ($26.6 million) to 173.4 million riyals by the end of October, said Adil Dahlawi, managing director and chief executive of Itqan Capital. Itqan currently manages four sharia-compliant funds: a money market fund and three real estate funds. New product launches are scheduled this year with two funds in the pipeline, the first of which is a private equity fund investing in the Saudi education market, Dahlawi said. About half of all assets under management in Saudi Arabia follow Islamic investment principles.

According to Adil Dahlawi, CEO and Managing Director of Itqan Capital, the Islamic banking sector will witness an increasing demand as Islamic financing jumped 27 percent in one year to $1.1 trillion from $800 billion. He noted that one of the most prominent topics discussed at Al Baraka's 34th symposium for Islamic Economic was zakat on debt, especially with the widespread presence of financial institutions specialized in financing from private companies and Banks. Besides, the increase in demand for private and public financing, whose notable effects are apparent on the financial statements of various companies and institutions were important issues. Standard & Poor's earlier forecast that sukuk sales are to double and reach $3 trillion by 2015 in light of companies which are working to capitalize on this growing and promising market.