Islamic Business & Finance Industry Awards to take place in December

The Islamic Business & Finance Awards, set to take place on 12th December, are currently the recognised Industry Awards across the globe. The awards will recognise superior performance of institutions through 15 categories, and will also honour outstanding professionals through awards for 'Islamic Banker', 'Lifetime Achievement' and 'Outstanding Contribution'.

CPI Financial aims to position these awards as a performance benchmark for the Islamic finance industry, just as its Banker Middle East Awards have done for the conventional finance industry.

These Awards were first introduced in 2005 and were launched in response to the phenomenal growth of the Islamic finance industry. Islamic finance is currently estimated at $500 billion in value, and has captured interest on a global scale, with cities such as London now competing with Kuala Lumpur, Manama and Dubai to be the main centre for Islamic finance.

Paul McNamara, Managing Editor of Islamic Business & Finance magazine says that "Even the most conservative of observers admit that we have only seen the tip of the Islamic finance iceberg to date. This is probably the most promising finance sector today."

"There is a growing body of people who are looking increasingly for 'faith-based' money management," he adds. "Once traditional banks realised that this was no longer a small niche market as previously perceived, but a huge potential source of revenue to tap into, it has become the norm for not only specialised banks, but conventional ones, to provide Shari'ah-compliant financial services in countries with a significant Muslim population."

The winner selection process was kicked off two months ago when a judging panel comprising industry experts from rating and consulting organisations began working to shortlist the nominations received from readers of Islamic Business & Finance magazine across the world.

The awards' winner shortlist is now available on the awards website. Registered readers of the magazine, representing the international Islamic finance industry, have begun from the 1st of November to vote online for the best in each of 15 categories on the website.

The individual award categories are completely open for nominee selection by readers of the magazine. Online voting closes on 4th December, and following analysis of the voting results, final winners will be announced at the 12th December ceremony in Dubai.

Islamic Business & Finance magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to the development of Islamic finance globally and widely considered to be the main source of industry news.