The global Islamic finance industry will continue to grow, with a total global asset value of $4.94 trillion expected by 2025, with Nigeria expected to play a major part in its growth.
This was disclosed in the Islamic Finance Development report 2021, themed “Advancing Economies.”
The report stated that $1.28 billion was spent on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Read: Nigeria’s N250 billion Sukuk Bond oversubscribed by 346%
On the CSR Activities sub-indicator, the global average for CSR disclosure remained low but some countries stood out, including Nigeria and the Maldives that are ranked among the top five.
According to the report, oversubscription rates for sovereign Sukuk indicate continued strong demand, which sovereigns are meeting with several jumbo issuances in 2020 and more recently in
the first half of 2021.
Read: FG receives N185m from Islamic Bank to support textile, agric sectors
In 2020, 15 countries issued Sukuk, with Nigeria and Egypt being notable returnees to the market after their absence in 2019.
Major activities in the Nigerian Islamic banking space in 2021:
- The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a N30 billion Corporate Sukuk Program to fund housing development.
- In August 2021, Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria will begin undergraduate and postgraduate Islamic banking courses.
- Lotus Bank was granted a non-interest banking license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June.
- The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) approved $150.52 million in support for Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone and $29.75 million for Phase II of the Front-End Engineering Design.
- Nigeria will issue its fourth Sukuk in December 2021. The N250 billion Sovereign Sukuk was N865 billion oversubscribed. This result implies a 346 per cent subscription rate.
- The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) introduced the Shariah-compliant non-interest fund VI.
- Two Islamic finance webinars on the capital market and Takaful were held by Islamic Finance Weekly. Regulators, operators, specialists, and individuals from the SEC and NAICOM participated in the webinars.
