Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, Chief Executive Officer at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) addressing the 4th IFSB Innovation Forum, yesterday.
Doha: The outlook of Islamic finance points towards a strong future growth. Embracing innovation, technological advances and financing instruments can provide untapped market access to Islamic finance, said Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, Chief Executive Officer at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) during the 4th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Innovation Forum.
The 4th IFSB Innovation Forum was organised by QFC and IFSB, and patronised by Qatar Central Bank (QCB), yesterday in the presence of key stakeholders from the global Islamic finance community. Addressing the forum Al Jaida said: “While sustainability efforts are government led, environmental preservation and social developments are shared responsibilities of the public and private sectors. Today the global Islamic finance industry is worth over $2 trillion and is projected to grow to nearly $5trillion by 2025.”
He stated that this annual event has been instrumental in facilitating the exchange of views, building stronger alliances, broader interlinkages, and identifying market gaps and opportunities that lead to the development of the Islamic financial services industry.
Looking globally, we can observe that capital markets are rampantly developing and adopting relevant sustainability standards and green taxonomies. This reality demands adapting innovative forms of sustainable financing instruments which are divergence to the Islamic finance principal. In fact, industry experts project that Shariah compliant ESG investment will grow significantly in the coming years as demand for ethical financing increases and awareness of climate change and social justice broadens, Al Jaida noted.
“One asset class expected to contribute to the growth of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assets are sustainable and green sukuks. The outlook of Islamic finance points towards a strong future growth. They have performed exceedingly well in the last decade exhibiting an increasing number of products and asset classes and they are widening geographical presence,” he said.
He added: “A lot can be done to scale Islamic finance and enhance financial inclusiveness. Embracing innovation, technological advances and financing instruments alike can provide untapped market access to Islamic finance, while working on policies and regulations remains the main building block to take the industry to the national level of growth”.
Qatar has a long-standing commitment to addressing global environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development. Supporting the global community’s effort towards sustainable, development, and environmental preservation is integral to Qatar’s sustainable strategy. This was put forward during the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 where the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani announced that Qatar will contribute $100m for the support of small developing island states and least developed states in their fight against the impact of climate change and natural disasters.
Al Jaida stated that internally, regulatory reforms and national initiatives reflect the State’s ambitions to mitigate the impact of climate change and promote sustainability. At the core of the Qatar National Vision 2030 lies the will to transforming the country into an advanced society capable of achieving sustainable development.
In 2021, Qatar launched the National Climate Change Action Plan, a strategic framework developed in coordination with more than 50 entities to address climate change dealing over 35 mitigation measures and more than 300 adaptation initiatives. One of the ambitious national targets under the climate plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030, he said.
