While this sector has no room for complacency, as its customers are just as likely to suffer from the economic downturn as those of conventional banks, we nonetheless believe that there are enormous opportunities for Sharia-compliant finance to take up some of the slack created by problems in the conventional financial industry.
The Sukuk market, in particular, is one that we believe provides a flexible financing mechanism which contains enormous potential. With Bahrain’s long track-record and supportive regulatory regime for Islamic finance, we believe that this is an aspect of the financial sector that is ripe for further development. Let me again welcome you to Bahrain and thank you for your participation in this important event.