Britain Offers Expertise on Development of Islamic Finance in Nigeria

The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Alan Yarrow on Tuesday said the United Kingdom was ready to offer expertise in the development of non-interest financing otherwise known as Islamic finance in the country.

He said given that there are 88 million Muslims with 39 per cent adult population, which remained unbanked in the country, Islamic finance presented an alternative investment and business finance model for development of critical infrastructure as well as suitable for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.


Noting that Islamic finance represented one of UK's financing strengths, he said regulatory and fiscal amendments has had to be made by the UK government to make it easier to establish Islamic banks, offer shariah-compliant products and enable British Muslims to engage with financial system in a way consistent with faith.

Yarrow said shariah-compliant investment had helped to fund some of London's largest showpiece developments including the Shard and the Olympic Village.

He noted that there are currently six Islamic banks in Britain in addition to 20 lenders offering Islamic financial products and services adding that dozens of Law firms offer services in Islamic finance.

He said as second largest Exchange in sub-Saharan Africa, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a crucial role to play in the development of the Islamic financing system.

He said:"It is truly the gateway to African markets and as such, the whole of Africa, to some extent, relies on Nigeria. From looking at Nigeria's legal framework, to helping to up skill your young, dynamic and ambitious population, London has the expertise, the variety and the capacity to help.

"And most of all, we offer the willingness. I know I speak for all of my colleagues in the business delegation here today not to mention all my colleagues back home when I say that we stand ready to do our bit."

"As the Lord Mayor of the City of London, I am an ambassador for the UK's financial and professional services. And I can say with absolute certainty that the City of London and the London Stock Exchange stand ready to help in any way we can."

He described the UK as the leading centre for Islamic finance outside the Muslim world.

"And it is our tradition to stand alongside Dubai and Kuala Lumpur as the main global hubs for Islamic finance. Britain became the first country outside the Muslim world to issue an Islamic bond or 'simul' last year. The 200m pound bond attracted healthy investor interest and was the first step in encouraging wider investment," he added.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Director General, SEC, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo disclosed that the commission was currently considering modalities for setting up a Sharia Advisory Council as a body of experts to advise on non-interest product applications.

He said in an effort to boost liquidity of non-interest products, the commission is working with a committee to support the FMDQ platform to enable secondary market trading of the products.

Represented by Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services SEC, Zakawanu Garuba, the SEC boss further hinted that efforts were ongoing with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obtain liquidity status for non-interest products, particularly the sukuk.

He said Islamic finance presented an area of immense opportunity for the country, lack of capacity remained a major challenge.

He expressed hope that the meeting with the London delegation would come up with workable solutions.

Gwarzo said: "We would be delighted to leverage London’s wealth of capacity and experience in this regard. We would be most delighted to get any form of assistance in building a vibrant non-interest capital market in Nigeria that will help push national aspirations for inclusive socioeconomic development."