GCC Détente and Green Financing Allow for Saudi Arabia’s Leadership in Islamic Finance: Fitch Ratings 

Fitch Ratings’ Global Head of Islamic Finance, Bashar Al-Natoor, stated that Saudi Arabia is currently leading the Islamic finance industry worldwide, with this trend set to continue through 2021. In a statement to Arab News, Al-Natoor said that despite Islamic finance being small globally, it is significant in the Middle East and even more so in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s top position in Islamic finance is largely due to the end of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Qatar rift and the growing prominence of green finance. According to Al-Natoor, in the past, Saudi Arabia was known for its market leadership in countries with dual Islamic and conventional financing. However, across the five key segments of the industry, namely Islamic banks, Takaful, Sukuk, fund man...