The Chairman of Egyptian Islamic Finance Association, Dr. Mohamed El-Beltagy, has revealed that the volume of global Islamic banking has reached US$ 1.500 trillion at the end of last March, citing statistics from international financial institutions. El-Beltagy expected Islamic banking to significantly grow in the upcoming period as many countries have started to invest in Sharia-compliant financial instruments such as sukuk (Islamic bonds). The Egyptian Islamic Finance Association will organize a conference next month to discuss sukuk applications after approving the law and setting the executive regulation, he told Amwal Al Ghad. The volume of Islamic banking in Egypt reached EGP 102 billion at the end of last January, accounting for 7.4% of the total volume of banking transactions in the country. The volume of Islamic banking transactions rose 2.6% since the outbreak of 2011's revolution. Islamic deposits surged to EGP 83 billion at the end of last January, accounting for 7.6% of the total volume of deposits which reached EGP 1.113 billion at the end of last January, he added. The volume of Islamic finances reached EGP 72 billion at the end of last January, accounting for 7.2% of the total volume of finances reached EGP 524 billion.
