The Islamic funds industry has rebounded from the downturn following the global financial slowdown in 2008 in much the same way as the conventional funds industry has recovered.

That was the message from organiser David McLean on the closing day of the WIFFMC 2013 at the Gulf Hotel yesterday.

"The industry has clearly turned the corner over the past few years having been hit by the crisis in conventional markets," he said.

"This year's event has been the most successful to date with more than 200 people here for the final sessions. The positive attitude in the industry was reflected in the seniority of the fund management executives and other professionals who took part this year and that bodes well for the industry in the future," he added.

"We are seeing strong growth across the industry, particularly in the sukuk market," said McLean.

"We are seeing investment in the sector expanding from being largely institutional a few years ago to addressing a growing retail market and that has to be good news," he said.

"We will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of this event when we return to Bahrain next May and the response and feedback from people who participated this year is that next year will be an even bigger event as the industry faces what could well turn into a boom period," he added.-TradeArabia News Service