The burgeoning halal food and Muslim lifestyle sectors were estimated to be worth US$2 trillion in 2013, and are expected to reach US$2.47 trillion by 2018, based on the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2014 report, produced by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with DinarStandard. This represents a huge opportunity for Islamic finance, which has been for the most part untapped.
“Bahrain is well positioned to leverage its positioning as a regional financial hub with a well-developed banking sector and a growing Islamic finance industry to create an impact in the halal economy sectors; especially given that it has a well-diversified economy that does not heavily rely on the oil and gas sector. Finance, tourism and industrial manufacturing play a strong role in its economy. With growing competitiveness from the region, a key growth opportunity for its already robust Islamic finance sector, is the emerging global Halal economy space”, said BIBF Director Solveig Nicklos.
The Convergence of Halal Market Economy and Islamic Capital training course is a managerial level course tailored for Islamic finance and takaful executives and managers and lifestyle sector executives, managers and students. The course will give participants a summary of the halal market opportunity and focus on specific areas of financing/ takaful needs and gaps by the key halal economy sectors of food, pharma, personal care, travel and fashion. Specific focus will be on the halal food value chain opportunities. The course covers the six-core halal economy sectors beyond Islamic finance. These sectors covered include halal food, family tourism, clothing/fashion, media/recreation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, and outlines their geographic and market potential profile.
The Convergence of Halal Market Economy and Islamic Capital course is scheduled for 7 and 8 June and will be held at BIBF premises.