SMEs: Islamic banking’s role stressed for sector

ICCI President stressed the need for Islamic banks to expand their network of branches

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Tuesday highlighted the need for full-fledged Islamic microfinance banks to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as currently no Islamic bank was focusing on this sector.

The ICCI, in collaboration with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Islamic Banking and Takaful (SCIBT), organised a seminar on Islamic banking which was attended by the business community.

Speaking at the occasion, ICCI President Muzzamil Hussain Sabri said that businessmen wanted to get rid of interest-based banking to expand the scope of their operations. However, there was still lot of confusion between conventional banking and Islamic banking which needed to be cleared up by more awareness sessions.

He stressed the need for Islamic banks to expand their network of branches to increase outreach and create awareness.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th,  2015.

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