Amana puts market potential of Islamic banking at over Rs. 150 b

Amana Bank yesterday estimated that the market potential for Islamic banking was over Rs. 150 billion.

The bank, which was founded 14 years ago, said a past survey in 1992 estimated the then market size for Islamic finance at Rs. 10 billion.

Amana cited the two figures of Rs. 10 billion and Rs. 150 billion to signify the evolution and growth as well as the potential for Islamic finance and banking.

Amana Bank’s path to become Sri Lanka’s first licensed commercial bank which fully functions on the principles of Islamic finance is an outcome of a visionary architect. He is Osman Kassim, the founder chairman of Amana Bank. His vision was to provide the solutions of Islamic finance to all Sri Lankans.

When Kassim was first exposed to the Islamic finance system, its non-oppressive nature and inherent principles of justice and fairness impressed him. During such time the system was beginning to take roots in many countries across the world which encouraged Kassim to envision the introduction of Islamic banking in Sri Lanka and set him up on a determined journey of over 14 years to realise his vision.

“The idea of Islamic banking in Sri Lanka was initially discussed and tossed around. A few likeminded people agreed to come on board. We had no doubt about investors coming forward to invest in an Islamic Bank and by God’s grace it was proved to be true,” explained Kassim, recalling the inception of Amana.

Commenting on the support extended by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Kassim said: “At the beginning the Central Bank was sceptical, but with many global events related to conventional finance and the subsequent adoption of Islamic finance by many countries as an alternative system, they realised the positive inputs and benefits that Islamic finance can have on our financial system.”

He conveyed his deep appreciation to the Government and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for their approval and guidance.

Kassim is of the view that in addition to the continued blessings and the direction of the Central Bank, there are other key ingredients important for the development of the Islamic finance industry in Sri Lanka.

Motivated Islamic banking practitioners, enabling legislation, active R&D and a customer friendly approach are identified as crucial for the development of Islamic finance. His vision is to make Sri Lanka the hub for Islamic finance in South Asia, for which he believes the country has the potential environment.

He stressed that the general public can widely benefit from Islamic Finance through its main practitioner Amana Bank. However he noted that the general public are yet to realise the true potential and benefits that Islamic finance can bring to their lives.

He elaborated: “I am looking forward to every branch of Amana Bank giving out Qard Hasan (Benevolent loans) to people in distress and dire need and make the public realise the uniqueness of Islamic banking. With its launch Amana Bank, will uphold a value proposition that is relevant and commonly believed by the general public and the whole of humanity.”

Reflecting on his initial vision, Kassim believes the same applies even now for Amana Bank. He stressed: “Amana Bank would be the leader in Islamic banking and would champion the cause of spreading the concept to all banks in the country and to the general population at large by helping them to understand the benefits and the inherent justice of the system.”

Kassim counts well over 35 years of business management experience in diverse areas of business. He is also the founder Chairman of Expolanka Holdings Plc, which is a large and well diversified corporate group of 40 companies engaged in the export of tea and non-traditional commodities, import trading, food processing, freight forwarding, manufacturing, waste management systems, entrepòt trading, travel, airline representation, logistics and aviation. He also holds directorship in many other companies including APIIT Lanka Ltd., and Vidullanka PLC.

Amana Bank is well poised to offer the Sri Lankan market a unique and rewarding banking experience and expects to commence operations during the second half of 2011.