Global Islamic economy: Pakistan has potential to expand its share: ICCD

The Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development (ICCD) Secretary General, Yousef Hassan Khalawi, has outlined Pakistan's potential to expand its share in the global Islamic economy. Speaking at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Talk Series, Khalawi highlighted Pakistan's large Muslim population, sizeable diaspora, growing Islamic finance market, and strong pool of financial professionals as a solid foundation for tapping into global opportunities.

He emphasized the need for the Islamic finance industry to adopt a forward-looking approach, particularly in emerging areas such as fintech, and develop products that can serve both domestic and international markets. Khalawi also stressed the importance of Maqasid al-Shariah, suggesting that Islamic finance should contribute to wider social and economic development.

The discussion further covered agricultural finance as a major untapped opportunity and the role of fintech in making Shariah-compliant financing more accessible and cost-effective. SECP Commissioner Imtiaz Haider highlighted the growing footprint of Islamic finance in Pakistan's capital markets and non-bank financial sector, with 309 Shariah-compliant securities representing 65% of total market capitalisation.

Brief written by urgent.news from Business Recorder's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.