The growing role Islamic finance is playing in the expansion of Abu Dhabi’s banking sector will be mapped out in a forthcoming report to be published by Oxford Business Group (OBG).

The Report: Abu Dhabi 2014 will look in detail at the new tools and measures which are becoming available on the back of rising demand for Sharia-compliant financial services.

It will also consider the contribution that major government projects are expected to make in galvanising growth across the emirate’s banking industry.

OBG, a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the seventh year to collaborate with the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) for its forthcoming report on the emirate.

Under the agreement, OBG will have access to the bank’s expertise and research resources which will be used to help compile the group’s coverage of Islamic financial services in the report.

OBG’s regional editor Oliver Cornock said trends noted for 2012, which included increases in liquidity and larger profits from Islamic finance, showed that while lending remained somewhat sluggish, Abu Dhabi’s banks were heading towards recovery from the financial crisis five years earlier.

“Abu Dhabi’s bid to target non-hydrocarbon segments of its economy for growth, including financial services, is gathering pace, while the setting up of public-private partnerships should provide plenty of opportunities for banks to facilitate the rolling out of new projects,” he said.

The report will be a vital guide to the many facets of the emirate, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. It will be available in print or online in the first quarter of 2014, he added. - TradeArabia News Service