Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services (IFAAS) has announced the imminent launch of its exclusive report entitled, ‘Islamic Finance in Morocco – sizing the retail market’, analysing the consumer retail market for Islamic financial products and services in Morocco. 

The report is the first of its kind for the country and is due to be launched in June. It is the result of an independent survey performed on a representative random sample of the Moroccan population across all major regions of the Kingdom, a statement from IFAAS said. 

The report sets out the market opportunities for financial institutions with interest in the Moroccan market, the statement said. It measures the potential market size for Islamic retail banking, finance and Islamic insurance ‘Takaful’ and assesses how it will compete with mainstream, conventional finance.  

It will be of particular importance for financial institutions looking to set-up their Islamic operations in Morocco as IFAAS’ report provides full analysis of the consumer demand for Islamic finance in the region. 

It profiles consumers according to their existing use of financial products and services, evaluates their attitudes towards Islamic finance and reports on their tendency to take out Islamic products and services. 

The report also analyses consumer understanding of how Islamic financial products and services work and their likely behaviour when Islamic financial products become available in the Moroccan market. 

Farrukh Raza, managing director of IFAAS, said: “Decision makers looking to develop a retail offering need concrete data and consumer insights in order to make critical business decisions. The report, which is based on scientifically validated information, fulfils the demand for this data enabling financial institutions to build appropriate business and product strategies. It is a must-have for any institution considering its next move in the nascent Moroccan Islamic finance sector.” 

IFAAS commissioned a highly reputed local research firm to independently undertake the quantitative survey. Random, face-to-face, street interviews were conducted on a weighted sample size of over 800 individuals, reflecting a true picture of the Moroccan consumer market.

The Finance Advisory has published several similar market reports analysing the consumer market for Islamic finance including France in 2008 and Oman 2011, both considered by the industry to be ground breaking benchmarks. – TradeArabia News Service