Saudi Arabia is emerging as the largest market for Islamic assets, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia, with an estimated $207 billion of Islamic assets in 2011, was ranked first in the world.
Malaysia was ranked second with total assets of $106 billion and UAE ranked third with total assets of $75 billion.
The top 20 Islamic banks hold over 57 per cent of global Islamic banking assets, and registered a growth of 16 per cent in the last three years, said E&Y.
Ashar Nazim, partner, Global Islamic Banking Center of Excellence at E&Y said: “The top 20 Islamic banks are concentrated in the seven core markets for Islamic banking which include: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Malaysia and Turkey.”
