Islamic finance poised for big leap in China

KUALA LUMPUR: China is the next big Islamic finance market, as demand grows for ethical funds, but Asia’s fastest growing economy must first sort out tax issues, a unit of British insurer Prudential said yesterday.

A large Muslim population and growing wealth provide a ready retail Islamic banking market in China, a senior executive of Prudential’s Kuala Lumpur-based fund management unit said.

The US$1 trillion Islamic finance industry is targeting rapidly growing Asian economies such as China and India and new markets like Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka to offset slowing growth in its traditional base of Gulf Arab states.