عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Arabia Tops Islamic Financial Service Sector with $800 bln in Assets

The signing ceremony of the MoU between the Saudi Ministry of Investment and King Saud University (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The signing ceremony of the MoU between the Saudi Ministry of Investment and King Saud University (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Tops Islamic Financial Service Sector with $800 bln in Assets

The signing ceremony of the MoU between the Saudi Ministry of Investment and King Saud University (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The signing ceremony of the MoU between the Saudi Ministry of Investment and King Saud University (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Islamic financial services industry in Saudi Arabia enjoys a prominent position globally, announced Deputy Governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for Research and International Affairs Dr. Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Dossari.

The total assets of the industry in the banking sector, the Sukuk sector, the insurance sector, and the investment funds sectors amounted to $800 billion, which puts it in the lead, according to the 2021 report of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).

Dossari spoke during the 42nd Al-Baraka Islamic Economics Symposium, which ended recently at the Islamic University of Madinah.

He pointed out that the Islamic financial services industry has witnessed an evident quantitative growth in assets, adding that it has also developed at the international level.

Its global assets amount to about $2.7 trillion, achieving annual growth of more than 10 percent, said Dossari. He noted that the Islamic banking sector continues to acquire the most significant amount of the industry's assets, up to 68 percent.

The official stated that the sector witnessed rapid growth in Saudi Arabia, as the total Sharia-compliant financing amounted to over $4.5 billion, with an annual growth rate of 18 percent.

The total Sharia-compliant deposits amounted to more than $4.7 billion, with an annual growth rate of about 13 percent.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Investment signed a memorandum of understanding with King Saud University to bolster cooperation, develop investment opportunities, and exchange data and expertise in the field.

It comes within the framework of the Ministry's efforts to achieve its objectives of attracting investments, enabling the sector to grow, facilitating access to investment opportunities, localizing knowledge and expertise, and enhancing integration efforts between public sectors.

The memorandum will establish regular graduate programs and master's programs based on the needs of the Ministry of Investment and in its areas of interest.

It will help develop investment opportunities in the university's assets to serve the objectives of the National Investment Strategy and achieve new resources for the university.

It will also motivate graduate students and their supervisors to adopt research in basic, applied, economic, and financial research related to investment.

The agreement provides courses, seminars, and workshops to promote a culture of sustainable investment and support training and development opportunities in investment and entrepreneurship.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

IMF Chief Sees Steady World Growth in 2025, Continuing Disinflation

People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)
People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)
TT
TT

IMF Chief Sees Steady World Growth in 2025, Continuing Disinflation

People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)
People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)

The International Monetary Fund will forecast steady global growth and continuing disinflation when it releases an updated World Economic Outlook on Jan. 17, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters on Friday.

Georgieva said the US economy was doing "quite a bit better" than expected, although there was high uncertainty around the trade policies of the administration of President-elect Donald Trump that was adding to headwinds facing the global economy and driving long-term interest rates higher.

With inflation moving closer to the US Federal Reserve's target, and data showing a stable labor market, the Fed could afford to wait for more data before undertaking further interest rate cuts, she said. Overall, interest rates were expected to stay "somewhat higher for quite some time," she said.

The IMF will release an update to its global outlook on Jan. 17, just days before Trump takes office. Georgieva's comments are the first indication this year of the IMF's evolving global outlook, but she gave no detailed projections.

In October, the IMF raised its 2024 economic growth forecasts for the US, Brazil and Britain but cut them for China, Japan and the euro zone, citing risks from potential new trade wars, armed conflicts and tight monetary policy.

At the time, it left its forecast for 2024 global growth unchanged at the 3.2% projected in July, and lowered its global forecast for 3.2% growth in 2025 by one-tenth of a percentage point, warning that global medium-term growth would fade to 3.1% in five years, well below its pre-pandemic trend.

"Not surprisingly, given the size and role of the US economy, there is keen interest globally in the policy directions of the incoming administration, in particular on tariffs, taxes, deregulation and government efficiency," Georgieva said.

"This uncertainty is particularly high around the path for trade policy going forward, adding to the headwinds facing the global economy, especially for countries and regions that are more integrated in global supply chains, medium-sized economies, (and) Asia as a region."

Georgieva said it was "very unusual" that this uncertainty was expressed in higher long-term interest rates even though short-term interest rates had gone down, a trend not seen in recent history.

The IMF saw divergent trends in different regions, with growth expected to stall somewhat in the European Union and to weaken "a little" in India, while Brazil was facing somewhat higher inflation, Georgieva said.

In China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States, the IMF was seeing deflationary pressure and ongoing challenges with domestic demand, she said.

Lower-income countries, despite reform efforts, were in a position where any new shocks would hit them "quite negatively," she said.

Georgieva said it was notable that higher interest rates needed to combat inflation had not pushed the global economy into recession, but headline inflation developments were divergent, which meant central bankers needed to carefully monitor local data.

The strong US dollar could potentially result in higher funding costs for emerging market economies and especially low-income countries, she said.

Most countries needed to cut fiscal spending after high outlays during the COVID pandemic and adopt reforms to boost growth in a durable way, she said, adding that in most cases this could be done while protecting their growth prospects.

"Countries cannot borrow their way out. They can only grow out of this problem," she said, noting that the medium-growth prospects for the world were the lowest seen in decades.