GCC Banks Help China Break Into Islamic Finance

Qatar International Islamic Bank and QNB Capital signed an agreement in April with China-based Southwest Securities to develop Shariah-compliant finance products in the country. Seven months after Hong Kong sold its debut sukuk, China is exploring Islamic finance for projects from hospitals to metro stations, according to London-based Dome Advisory, which is working with a government-owned fund in Shanghai to finance five projects. Ningxia, an autonomous region in northwest China where a third of the 6.5 million population are Muslim, plans a $1.5 billion sukuk sale. However, country will need to make more regulatory changes to promote Islamic finance.