FRANCE - France aims to secure 10% of Islamic Finance industry

How can France partner up with the GCC banking industry and become a key player in Islamic Finance? This was the topic of a DIFC conference held today in Dubai, initiated by the DIFC Authority and Paris EUROPLACE, a government-backed initiative to promote the French banking industry worldwide. While banks in the UK entered into the lucrative Sharia banking industry more than ten years ago, French regulators have been dealing with the topic since 2007, when the French Market Authority accepted Sharia Funds.


"French Code laws are not affected, as Islamic Finance is more a technical issue for the country", Michel Collet, Partner at CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre in Paris told AMEinfo.com. He added that "Sukuk listings have been accepted in July 2008 and Paris is confident to see the establishing of the first Islamic Bank in France in 2011/2012."

France's Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde supports the domestic banking industry's efforts to catch up with London, the current Nr. 1 Islamic Banking hub in Europe and estimates the 5th Republic's potential in that field at about 10% of the $1trn global Sharia finance industry. Key conventional market players offering Sharia-compliant financial products are BNP Paribas, Société Générale and HSBC France, according to Collet.

Source : http://www.ameinfo.com/251666.html - Dec 15, 2010