Morocco to promote Islamic finance

2012-01-17

With an Islamist party in power, the future for sharia-compliant finance looks promising in Morocco.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 17/01/12

[Siham Ali] Bank Al-Maghrib Governor Abdellatif Jouahri says that Morocco is interested in promoting Islamic finance.

The issue of Islamic finance has taken centre stage in Morocco after the Justice and Development Party's (PJD) electoral triumph.

Supporters of sharia-compliant banking pin hopes on the new government to create the first Islamic bank in the kingdom.

The PJD has talked of promoting Islamic finance on a number of occasions. Just a few days after his appointment as prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane received a visit from Sheikh Khalid Bin Thani Al Thani, president of the Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), who set out plans for establishing an Islamic investment bank and insurance company in Morocco.

Bank Al-Maghrib Governor Abdellatif Jouahri said last month that Morocco was interested in Islamic finance and viewed the idea of creating Islamic banks as part of the new financial platform in Casablanca. A chapter on finance to meet the demands of sharia law will be included in the new banking law, he said.

Meanwhile, economic analysts are critical of Morocco's delay in enforcing Islamic banking.

According to economist Slimi Noureddine, the political will to promote Islamic finance is lacking. He insisted that Morocco should take the matter in hand to benefit from Arab investment, particularly from the Gulf states.

According to Bank Al-Maghrib, the worldwide market in Islamic finance will double in 2015, with a predicted value of $2.8 trillion (2.19 trillion euros). In Morocco, transactions coming under the umbrella of Islamic finance barely accounted for 800 million dirhams (72 million euros) in the third quarter of last year, which is a drop of 100 million dirhams (9 million euros) from 2010.

Officials blame this reduction on the reluctance of Moroccan banks to set up institutions which specialise in alternative finance, Noureddine said. He added that the expenses of alternative products can also be prohibitive, in addition to the slow-down in the housing market in recent months.

The analyst commented that Morocco should draw inspiration from successful experiences in other countries, so that this sector can be developed to meet public aspirations.

The African Development Bank, he said, has just published a report on the current situation of Islamic finance in North Africa.

"The report underlines that Islamic banking services in these countries, including Morocco, are struggling to develop, and looks at their future prospects and the extent to which they could contribute to economic development," Noureddine said.

According to PJD Assistant Secretary-General Lahcen Daoudi, there has been much talk about the theory of Islamic finance in Morocco, but now the time has come to explore this channel which could bring considerable amounts of capital into Morocco. He added that the sector is calculated to be worth more than a trillion euros worldwide.

"Morocco needs to bring in regulations dedicated to this sector to attract a large part of it," Daoudi said.