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piqer for: Boom and bust Global finds
I am journalist based in Dubai, where I cover energy, politics, finance, healthcare and human rights.
My investigative reporting and news features have been published by The Guardian, The Independent, Huffington Post, Forbes, New Internationalist, Your Middle East, The Financial Times’ This is Africa, and others.
Born in Wales, and previously been based in London and New York. I’ve also reported from other countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
I have a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool and an MA in International Journalism from Cardiff University. I began my career as a scientist, working in research for Unilever and then the major pharmaceutical company Novartis.
I’m addicted to scoops and love to dig into subjects, no matter how technical, to write stories on issues or events that aren’t known to the public.
Calls For Regulation Of $2 Trillion Islamic Finance Sector
Stories on the Islamic finance sector don’t appear in mainstream media very often, but they should as it is now a $2 trillion market. Banks and investors from all over the globe, including the United States and Europe, plough billions of dollars into Islamic finance each year. But this leaves them exposed to the sector's potential risks and weaknesses.
For years the Islamic finance sector was seen as a smart way to invest in lucrative businesses the Middle East and parts of Asia, with a decent guaranteed rate of return.
Everything changed last year, however, when Dana Gas, an oil and gas company based in the United Arab Emirates, announced it would not pay back the $700 million it had borrowed through its Islamic bond, which is called a sukuk. The reason? The company said this bond was no longer legal under Shariah law, so it was not obligated to return the money.
Naturally, this caused uproar among the bond holders — who want their money back — and the financial sector — which is concerned that other companies and countries could also refuse to pay back the money borrowed through sukuks, and potentially trigger a global financial crisis.
Right now, if a company decides it doesn’t want to pay back its lenders, all it needs is for an Islamic scholar to declare the bond contract invalid — hardly safe and secure conditions. Therefore, a sensible way forward would be to standardize Islamic finance, and introduce water-tight regulations to provide reassurance to those involved in this booming sector.
