The Islamic Finance Council UK, in partnership with Tods Murray LLP and Scottish Enterprise, successfully held an exclusive conference on the topic of ‘Islamic Investment in Infrastructure and Renewables in Scotland’.
The conference took place at the Edinburgh offices of Tods Murray LLP on Thursday 20th June 2013 and was followed by an evening reception hosted by the Scottish Government Minister, MSP Humza Yousaf, in Edinburgh Castle’s Great Hall. The reception included an address from Lady Susan Rice and Lord Sheikh.
The conference considered the financial challenges Scotland currently faces in delivering large projects and the viability of attracting Islamic finance as a potential solution.
The high quality of presentations made for interesting and thought provoking debate. London has successfully embraced Islamic finance as a viable investment source and, from the discussions on the day, there appears to be ethical and sustainable synergies between Scotland’s investment needs and Islamic financing sources. In particular, the Sukuk model was identified as a flexible and appropriate structure and with further work around legal matters there is scope for a product to be developed that could meet Gulf Investor appetite.
For media coverage see:
Herald Scotland http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/markets-economy/scotland-urged-to-enter-the-islamic-market.21146081
The Times http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article3795527.ece