Deloitte’s Islamic Finance Knowledge Center in the Middle East, in collaboration with the International Shariah Research Academy (ISRA), said that it has launched a new industry report providing an analysis of the driving factors and future potential for Sukuk to finance the development of renewable energy projects.
The report, “Sustainable Finance: Can Sukuk become a driver of solar and green energy growth?”, examines the value proposition provided by Islamic finance, as well as presenting anchor transactions and structures currently used in the market place.
This is Deloitte’s second renewable energy paper analysing industry investment trends, regulatory frameworks, stakeholders, financing strategies and success stories that help drive the value proposition for Islamic finance alternatives
Joe El Fadl, financial services industry leader, Deloitte, said: “The majority of the ‘ten’, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries researched in the report have seen a rising trend in investments through both conventional and Islamic finance arrangements primarily driven by international developers and strategic national investors.”
“This has also encouraged many other investors to engage in scale solar and green energy projects, thereby enjoying incentives offered by their respective governments,” he said.
El Fadl continued: “The drive to promote green energy in many countries, along with optimisation of solar solution costs, will continue to attract strategic investors into the sector primarily driven by promising returns and sustainable capital flow.”
“Owing to such factors, a number of regional countries and globally are either increasing the capacity of their current solar sit ups or installing new plants to achieve optimisation of efficiency,” he added.
Professor Mohamad Akram Laldin, executive director, International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance, said: “Looking at the growing interest in Islamic finance, we have observed various efforts being devoted to come up with solutions related to sustainable development of solar energy projects.”
“This will be a future driver of focus for Shariah scholars and practitioners alike,” he said.
Dr Hatim El Tahir, director of the Deloitte Islamic Finance Knowledge Center, said: “As solar energy continues to become a key renewable source in many OIC markets, and the need for capital funding, Sukuk can play a key role in bridging the gap in funding requirements and offer viable investment projects to local and international investors.”
Vishal Rander, director, project and infrastructure finance, Deloitte Middle East, said: “There is a healthy pipeline of solar and other alternative energy projects being developed in the Middle East region and Islamic finance can play a significant role in the financing of these projects.” – TradeArabia News Service
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