Chancellor gives Islamic finance the green light

Islamic finance is to be given a boost, as Gordon Brown pledges to offer regulatory and tax-regime measures to support the creation of Sharia products.

Brown says Britain is well-placed to achieve a role as "the gateway to Islamic finance and trade", and sees London as its hub, the Financial Times reports.

London-based investment banks have already been scrambling to capture a slice of the Islamic financial market, estimated to be worth US$300bn-US$400bn globally. London is already widely perceived to be the main centre for Islamic investment banking outside the Muslim world, the Financial Times says.