Dubai, UAE, November 14, 2018:  For nearly two decades, financial regulators and investment institutions around the world have been committed to strengthening practices in Islamic capital markets, and leverage standards for Sukuk as a key investment asset class. There has also been strong commitment from industry standards setters and other business supporting institutions (BSIs) to address practice differences and inconsistency.

Deloitte’s Islamic Finance Knowledge Center in the Middle East, in collaboration with the International Shariah Research Academy (ISRA), has just launched a new whitepaper, “Sukuk in focus: the necessity for global common practices”, inviting industry experts to share their perspectives on processes and principles of sustainable investment that will harness the case for global common practice of the Sukuk markets.

“We could find grounds for a working relationship with several stakeholders in the regulatory space and amongst market participants to narrow gaps and bring together the Islamic finance practices alongside with global best practices in banking and finance,” said Joe El Fadl, Partner in Charge of the Financial Services Industry at Deloitte Middle East. “We need a cross-industry strategy around building robust investment governance practices across geographies of proximity between east and west.”

“Continuous interaction with industry practitioners, well-established legal and regulatory framework, and concerted efforts by different industry stakeholders have contributed tremendously in identifying gaps and shaping best practices for Islamic finance in general and sukuk in particular,” said Professor Mohamad Akram Laldin, Executive Director, International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance.

“We structured our analysis on enhancing Shariah governance with noble objectives of Shariah around three broad considerations: global sustainable development goals (SDGs), the strategic role of industry institutions to harness good practices, and the current regulatory and policy support initiatives in key markets selected for this study,” explains Dr Hatim El Tahir, Director of the Deloitte Islamic Finance Knowledge Center.

This whitepaper is produced under the Deloitte Islamic finance series, “Leading by Engaging”, produced by the Deloitte ME Islamic Finance Knowledge Center (IFKC).