Islamic finance : 10 proposals to attract 100 billion Euros in savings !

This market could reach 1 300 billion dollars by the beginning of 2020.

Simple, and long term, Islamic finance is likely to provide liquidity to the French economy. This is why, in May 2008, Paris EUROPLACE entrusted both, Elyes JOUINI, who is the Scientific Director of the Europlace Institute of Finance (EIF) and a professor at Paris Dauphine, and Olivier PASTRE a professor at Paris VIII-Saint Denis, with the task of compiling a report making proposals aimed at encouraging Islamic Finance on the French marketplace.

The JOUINI /PASTRE report highlights the advantages to encouraging Islamic Finance to the French marketplace :
 a Law closer to Islamic Law which is not necessarily the Anglo-Saxon Law
 previous experience and confirmed partnerships with regions where Islamic Finance is rapidly developing
 a Muslim population in France, three times the size of that in Great Britain
 a privileged position in the Euro Zone
 a trading platform NYSE-Euronext- more internationalised than in London.

According to the terms in the report, "taking cognisance of the cultural proximity of France with Muslim countries, Islamic Finance could gain world leadership, at the cost of a small number of reforms, and as a result, bring to the Paris financial center an amount that is at present valued at 100 billion Euros".

The JOUINI -PASTRE report suggests 10 reforms to attract Islamic finance to the French marketplace and thus achieve this goal :
 1) accelerate efforts at communication between the French financial Marketplace and countries where Islamic finance is rapidly developing des pays où la Finance Islamique se développe le plus rapidement.
 2) give investors the financial and legal assurance that they need. This security deals with the treatment of tax, in particular the absence of taxing at the source and deductions to the remuneration on the sukuks (bonds) as well as fiscal neutrality on buying and selling movable or immovable assets.
 3) create an index of Islamic funds by NYSE Euronext.
 4) Ensure the creation of a market segment dedicated to indexed bonds and sukuk, followed by several private issues of sukuk on the Paris stock exchange and strengthen the capacity of origination of the French marketplace.
 5) adapt the present taxation system - indispensable to the development of financial structures compatible with the Sharia
 6) guarantee the savings of Muslim residents in France, following the Milhaud report on this topic
 7) develop the insurance sector whilst respecting Takaful and Retakaful principles
 8) Exonerate the seller from the guarantee against latent defects within the buy/sell framework for both movable and immovable assets; the possibility of suspension of civil security; overhaul of the refinancing terms for credit bail
 9) to rapidly agree to the establishment in France of Islamic financial institutions
 10) To accelerate training in Islamic finance in partnership with existing structures in Muslim countries