Islamic Finance Services

Sharia-compliant ﬁnance is emerging as a signiﬁcant and growing part of the global ﬁnancial services market.

The troubles afflicting conventional banks since 2007 have led to more attention being paid to Islamic alternatives. The abundance of wealth and liquidity in the Gulf region, fuelled by high commodity prices and strong economic fundamentals, has signiﬁcantly increased opportunities for those looking to the Middle East and Islamic finance. This can notably be seen in the success of Sukuks, the most popular Islamic finance instrument; they are becoming a global phenomenon, attracting more issuers from a larger pool of countries than ever before.

Current challenges:

There appears to be great potential for further growth in the Islamic finance industry, which is still at a relatively early stage. However, there are also a number of challenges associated with developing a new industry.

Changes in Risk Management approach;
Regulatory compliance: AIFMD, Basel II / Basel III, UCITS IV;
Liquidity issue, secondary market;
Sharia standards and standardisation.

How we can help?

PwC's professionals have the industry knowledge and experience to quickly understand your concerns and provide solutions that are tailored to the scale, diversity and complexity of your business.

Corporate services

Setting up Sharia-compliant investment vehicles, companies or SPVs in Luxembourg;
Structuring investment products;
Assistance in listing Sukuks on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
Due diligence, legal requirements;
Drafting the prospectus.

Advisory

Assessing Risk appetite;
Selecting suitable service providers;
Regulatory and Compliance issues;
Leveraging your Luxembourg positioning;
Staff training on Sharia principles.

Tax and Audit services

Audit services tailored to the specific requirements of Islamic finance investment products;
Tax optimisation and structuring advice.

Accounting services

Assistance with accounting reporting;
IFRS transition coordination;
Advice on accounting treatments;
Preparation of group consolidation instructions for subsidiaries and headquarters

Past achievements

Assistance with the setup and structuring of Sharia-compliant real estate/private equity investment vehicles in Luxembourg;
In-depth research on market opportunities, challenges, regulations and taxes for entry into certain Middle-Eastern countries or the development of Sharia-compliant services or product lines;
Assistance in designing a market strategy and in preparing the market entry of Sharia-compliant funds in Europe and the Middle East.

Contact us

Serene Shtayyeh

Assurance Partner

Tel: +352 49 48 48 2115

Wim Piot

Tax Partner, Tax policy

Tel: +352 49 48 48 2568

Media & Events Contact us Careers

© 2018 - 2022 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.