International Articles: Shariah Property Investment in Asia

Islamic banking and finance is growing at a rapid pace because of its value-oriented ethos. Through interviews with Shariah-compliant property investment players in Singapore, Bahrain, and Dubai, this research is a sequel to Parsa and McIntosh (2005), which looks at the trends and the development of an international strategy for Shariah-compliant property investment. The findings reveal that more than 95% of the respondents felt that "compliance with Shariah law is a fundamental requirement in terms of "halal" type of investment and investment structure." More than 75% of the respondents preferred to use the ijara/ijara-wa-iqtina and sukuk method of financing Shariah-compliant property investment. Seventy-eight percent of the respondents felt that Southeast Asia has the highest potential in Asia in attracting Shariah-compliant property investment. Together with the findings of Parsa and McIntosh (2005), this study extends the insights to the world of Shariah property investment.