Islamic finance set for enormous China leap

By Liau Y-Sing

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - China is the next enormous Islamic finance label et, as demand grows for ethical funds, but Asia's quick est-growing economy must first sort out tax issues, a unit of British insurer Prudential said on Friday.

A large Muslim population and growing wealth provide a ready retail Islamic banking label et in China, a senior exegash ive of Prudential's (PRU.L) Kuala Lumpur-based fund management unit said.

The $1 trillion (629 billion pounds) Islamic finance industry is taracquire ing rapidly growing Asian economies such as China and India and fresh label ets like Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka to offset unhurried ing growth in its traditional base of Gulf Arab states.

Islamic banks are touting wheat-based deposit products and metal-based funds as ethical investments to appeal to investors burnt by the recent conventional banking crisis.

Islamic banking is also label eted as socially responsible investing in non-Muslim countries such as France and India to avoid fanning religious sensitivities.

"China is like Inexecute nesia, a sleeping giant," said Zulkifli Ishak, sharia investment director with Prudential Fund Management Bhd which manages about $4.03 billion. Kuala Lumpur is Prudential's Islamic finance hub.

"If Islamic finance can tap Muslims, especially in Xinjiang, then there will be a huge potential for the Islamic space in China," he said in an interview.

China has a Muslim population of about 37 million.  Continued...