Sector

Japanese Interest in Islamic Banking: Key Questions

Islamic banking derives its basis from the principles laid down in Sharia and unlike conventional finance prohibits payment of and charging of interest. It has caught the attention of the global financial services and banking industry. The growth in Sharia-compliant products and services has happened over the years as financial institutions took their time to understand the principles, and design products and services that comply with those principles. Modern banks started offering sharia-compliant products around mid-1970s. Japan, once an economic...

KSA Obesity: Key Questions

There has been a welcome surge in the economic prosperity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). With prosperity, socio-cultural and lifestyle changes have emerged. This is like a curator’s egg, good in parts. The disturbing part is the increased incidence of a dangerous medical condition, namely obesity. Once considered a Western phenomenon, it is now very much an Arabic problem: it hurts people medically, and the kingdom financially.    “Obesity” and “Diabetes” are close cousins.   Type-2 diabetes, a...