Islamic banking assets to reach $ 1.5 billion

According to the CEO of Amana Bank, Faizal Salieh, it is expected for the current $ 250 million of banking assets to rise to $ 1.5 billion in the coming years. About 8% of the country's population of 21.5 million people are Muslims. The strong demand for Islamic financial products comes not only from the Muslim population but from non-Muslims as well. Still at a preliminary stage, the local Islamic finance is nevertheless developing. The expected rapid growth of the local Islamic finance is attributed to the increased awareness of faith based concepts and the internalization of the financial markets.