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Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) The use of Islamic banking and sukuk in Jordan and the world will broaden the scope for new investments, according to Afaq Khan, CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq, the international Islamic banking business of Standard Chartered Bank.

Citing an Ernst and Young report, Khan told Petra in an interview that Islamic banking assets have grown to reach US$1.8 billion this year, adding that these assets are looking for "a new home", with diversification through the various instruments that Islamic Banking offers.

Khan said Jordan has the potential to take advantage of Islamic banking, as it is considered a stable and fast-growing economy. Besides, he added, Islamic banking offers its investors transparency and accessibility to foreign currency.

"It is strategic for Jordan to look at Islamic Banking, as it provides the opportunity to Jordanian expatriates to invest in Jordan, which will help increase the foreign currency reserves," the banker said, on the sidelines of a workshop organized by Standards Chartered here in Amman to raise awareness about Islamic Banking.

"The two main drivers for Islamic Banking are product innovation – the ability to meet clients’ needs – and government support. Investment flourishes only if there is the transparency and clarity to reassure investors that their assets are safeguarded for the long term," he noted.

Islamic Banking, Khan said, is growing faster than conventional banking . "It is growing 50 percent faster than the overall banking sector in several core markets," he added.

Today, he affirmed, Islamic Banking provides a wider range of products than 15 years ago and clients, as individuals or companies, look to a wide variety of products that are compliant with Shariah.

Standard Chartered’s Islamic offering is called Saadiq (meaning truthful), and provides more than 300 Shariah-compliant products and solutions across both consumer and wholesale banking to meet customers’ needs, while respecting their beliefs.