Stock exchange advocates Islamic investments for economic recovery

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Ltd and other stakeholders have advocated Islamic finance investments for economic recovery and development in Nigeria.

They made the call at the third edition of the Islamic Finance News Nigeria roadshow organised by the NGX on Wednesday in Lagos.

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Temi Popoola, the Chief Executive Officer of NGX, said the Islamic Finance Development Report 2020 forecast that global Islamic finance assets would reach $3.69 trillion by 2024.

He explained, “The report attributed the strong growth in 2019 to the large issuance of Sukuk in the traditional Islamic finance market of Saudi-Arabia, Malaysia, Iran, and others.

“In Nigeria, the Islamic financial market continues to grow with increased interest from market participants and a growing number of players, including two Islamic banks.”

The Islamic finance industry assets grew by 14 per cent in 2019, he further disclosed.

Norfaselizan Rahman, the Managing Director of Taj Bank, said the Islamic finance market penetration was currently low but fast-growing.

Similarly, Peter Mushangwe, an analyst at Financial Institutions Group (Moody’s Investors Service), said the Islamic finance industry was at its early.

“Also, the state of regulation is still developing and evolving in Nigeria, and from the Islamic finance perspective, we view it as a stage of development,” he said.

Elhadji Thiaw, Country Sales Specialist Senegal, Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, explained that the Muslim population globally were looking for ethical financing.

“As you might know, the Muslim population worldwide are in dire need of ethical finance, and we are having a key focus on Nigeria because it is a big player in the African continent,” said Thiaw.