Liechtenstein is reportedly planning to lure Islamic financial business to further bolster its well-established wealth management industry.
As part of the expansion plan, the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA) is making tax and legal amendments to assist sharia-compliant wealth management, including aspects of inheritance and corporation law, reported Reuters.
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Liechtenstein aims to increase its focus on wealth management through a coordinated effort by the public and private sectors.
Urs Philipp Roth-Cuony, chairman of the Financial Market Authority (FMA), said: "It seems pretty much feasible to combine principles of Islamic finance with Western standards. London does it, Luxembourg does it, and others do it – that should not be a stumbling block."
Dirk Zetzsche, professor of law at the University of Liechtenstein, which hosts the conference with FMA on 28 October, said a group of policy makers and business associations will assist Liechtenstein’s Islamic finance push.
Reuters said that the university will conduct activities such as academic research into Islamic finance, which includes studies of the cost efficiency and ethical orientation of the intermediary structures used in Islamic finance.
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By GlobalData"We hope that investors and businesses from the Middle East and the Asian region will recognize our efforts, which then would help to forge stronger relations," Roth-Cuony added.
In December last year, about 119 asset management firms in Liechtenstein held a total of CHF29.8bn in assets, up from26.6% a year earlier.
