This is the 4th IFN Sri Lanka event.
Sri Lanka’s Banking Act, amended in 2005, allows commercial and specialized banks to offer Islamic finance products. In 2018, the Inland Revenue Act was amended so both Islamic and conventional finance deals are subject to the same tax treatment.
There are seven conventional banks with Islamic windows and one fully-fledged Islamic bank. There is also one fully-fledged Takaful operator and a few conventional operators offering Takaful products.
Sri Lanka’s debut Sukuk facility was issued in 2016 by LOLC Finance’s Al Falaah Islamic Business Unit, and in 2018, Citizens Development Business Finance issued various tranches of Sukuk Ijarah. A sovereign Sukuk issuance has been in the works since 2016.
With about 9% of the total 21 million-strong population of Sri Lanka being Muslim there is a demand for Shariah compliant financial products in the country. Sri Lanka is a unique and developing Islamic financial market with opportunities in all sectors.
