Scotland could tap into one of the fastest growing global streams of investment, say experts from the Islamic finance arena ahead of an Edinburgh conference on Scottish infrastructure and renewable projects today.
The Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC), a body based in Scotland, said the "sukuk" bond market had surged to more than $250 bil-lion (£159bn) and cited the example of Saxony Anhalt, the German state, which has already successfully issued a sukuk attracting €100 million (£85m) from Islamic investors.
The council has been proposing the idea to the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise for the past three years.
Saftar Sarwar, an IFC board member, said: "There remains a window of opportunity in the market for an investment-rated sukuk from within the UK, which would attract Gulf and Asian investment funds to diversify currencies but also significantly help UK Islamic banks manage their liquidity requirements.
"The sukuk market is currently particularly buoyant and presents an excellent opportunity to tap £100m or above backed against an infrastructure or renewable energy project in Scotland, if the Scottish Government is able to put matters in place."
Graham Burnside, another IFC board member and chairman of law firm Tods Murray, which is co-hosting the conference, said: "We are pleased to see that the agenda is moving on and that we have clear indication from the region of a real appetite to invest."
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