Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, has launched an Islamic finance development indicator in collaboration with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector development arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

The indicator is a numerical measure representing the overall health and growth of the Islamic finance industry worldwide.

It expands the scope of Thomson Reuters’ universe of Islamic finance content, research and news analysis to develop a much needed unbiased and reliable multi-dimensional barometer of the development of the Islamic finance industry.

The indicator measures five key components – quantitative development, governance, social responsibility, knowledge and awareness.

Russell Haworth, managing director, Mena, Thomson Reuters, said: “We have been at the forefront of some of the major market moving measures in the world. This initiative confirms our commitment to develop high impact indicators that measure the growth of Islamic Finance services.”

Khaled Al-Aboodi, the CEO of Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, said this step meets the growing global demand for transparent and accurate industry information across global Islamic finance markets.

"We recognise that the industry requires effective holistic measures and we are delighted to collaborate with Thomson Reuters to facilitate this significant milestone that will support the development of the Islamic financial services industry," he noted.

Sayd Farook, the global head of Islamic Capital Markets said, "There is no one unique indicator representing the health of the Islamic finance industry in aggregate. As a result, professionals, mass media and consumers rely for their information on misrepresentative or worse, one-dimensional proxies such as the size of Islamic banking assets or sukuk."

"The Islamic finance development indicator is a unified benchmark that measures the industry’s growth and covers several elements including governance and social responsibility," he added.-TradeArabia News Service