New Research Insights Focus on Growth & Performance in the Global Islamic Banking Industry: Standard Chartered announced as sponsors of The WIBC McKinsey Competitiveness Report 2007/08

The much awaited Annual World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2007/08 compiling the research findings of the WIBC Competitiveness Report will be released on the 9th of December 2007 during the plenary sessions of the 14th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) to be held in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A team of McKinsey partners from key international centres will release the report highlighting strategic trends, analysis of the growth and performance of the leading industry players.

Now in its fourth year, the Competitiveness Report has rapidly evolved into the strategic reference point for market leaders as they seek to raise the bar on the challenges of competitive excellence, strategic leadership and performance improvement. Standard Chartered Saadiq, the Islamic Banking arm of Standard Chartered Bank, this year partners with WIBC as the Competitiveness Report Sponsor.

Ozgur Tanrikulu, Partner at McKinsey & Company in Dubai, said about the report: 'Besides the annual overview of the Islamic banking sector, this
year’s Competitiveness Report dives into selected business and operational areas which are of increasing relevance to the leaders in the sector. It explores the latest developments in Asia, in terms of general market trends as well as government and regulator initiatives to boost the sector. It also highlights the imperative for Islamic banks to upgrade their internal capabilities and, towards this end, specifically goes over the challenges and opportunities in risk management as well as the competitive edge that can be gained from best practice processes and operation by Islamic banks. And, finally, keeping in mind the flourishing economy of the GCC and the excess of liquidity in the hands of both wealthy individuals and government funds, it has a special look at the untapped opportunities for Islamic banks in asset management.'

The launch of the 4th Annual WIBC McKinsey Competitiveness Report 2007/08, as every year, will look back at the evolution of the Islamic banking sector and of specific players: Their growth and performance, the winners and the losers. In addition to this overview of competitive performance, the Report will also focus on critical issues that the leaders of Islamic banks need to address in order to continue delivering exciting growth in the future. The Report will also pose critical questions on the size and attractiveness of the market and the key success factors to effectively compete in the rapidly changing international landscape. In addition, this year’s Report will also examine key trends in the Islamic asset management space and the latest approaches to risk management in the context of specific Islamic financial products.

The Competitive Report Sponsor, Standard Chartered Saadiq, will provide comprehensive, international banking services and a wide range of Shari’ah compliant financial products. Standard Chartered Saadiq has been at the forefront of many leading transactions in the Islamic finance industry in the last twelve months; many of them are “industry firsts”.

Afaq Khan, CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq said: ”The Islamic finance industry has grown from strength-to-strength in recent years, and Standard Chartered Saadiq’s business continues to grow rapidly and has more than doubled since 2005.

“The growth in the industry is well diversified across wealth management, corporate and investment banking and private equity. We are also witnessing the development of several global Islamic Banking megatrends – especially the exponential growth in the Sukuk market, envisaged to reach a potential of US 150 billion by 2010. The next wave is the entire Islamic area of treasury risk management - Islamic hedging.”

“As the report will elaborate, the industry is now at the point of rapid expansion, with Islamic banking making the transition from niche business segment to becoming a parallel financial system to drive growth through financial alternative and innovation.”

In addition, the closed-door CEO Strategy Session at the 14th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference will be facilitated by McKinsey & Company on December 9, where CEOs representing the world’s leading Islamic financial institutions will discuss the findings of the Report in an environment conducive to candid and interactive debate.
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