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"The most significant development in Islamic finance this century" |
The CEO of a London-based product design and consultancy firm has told Euromoney his team has developed a Shariah-compliant futures contract which he says will "revolutionize" Islamic finance. Humayon Dar of BMB Islamic, a specialist Islamic finance company, hopes work on the contract, which he says has already been approved by Shariah scholars, will be finished by the end of the year. He says it should be ready to go on the market during the first quarter of 2008.
"Until now, no one has successfully attempted to come up with an Islamic futures contract. But the scholars are happy," he says. "Once it is in the market, this will be the most significant development in Islamic finance this century. It will revolutionize the Islamic asset and fund management industry."
BMB Islamic, according to Dar, is in negotiations with the prime brokerage services of "at least two western investment banks", which will assist it with the structuring of sale and purchase agreements for the futures, as well as with the distribution of the product.
