Commenting on the current development of the Islamic banking sector in Pakistan, Ashar Nazim, Managing Director, Islamic Capital, said that the introduction of new banks and financial investment in Pakistan is a very positive sign in the development of the Islamic financial market.
These comments came in view of the news that a Bahraini investor, Al Salam Bank, is keen to establish operations in Pakistan. Yousif Taqi, CEO - Al Salam Bank, has expressed his interest in making infrastructure, energy, power and real estate investments in Pakistan.
He further said that the current market share of Islamic banking in Pakistan is nearly 3 percent within five years, which is remarkable by any international standards. Comparing ourselves to markets of Malaysia and Bahrain, it took them nearly ten years to reach the milestone.
Currently there are 6 Islamic commercial banks and 13 Islamic banking windows of conventional banks operating in Pakistan such as Dubai Islamic Bank, BankIslami, ABN Amro, Standard Chartered Sadiq, Meezan Bank, Emirates Global Islamic Bank and UBL Ameen, with more than 170 branches.-PR