Islamic Finance Application in Turkey in Comparison with Other Countries: Developments and Current State of Sukuk

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,0, Istanbul Marmara University (Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences), course: Bank Funds Management, language: English, abstract: The Islamic finance industry has been on the rise with the Islamic banking sector growing throughout crises. Turkey¿s Islamic banking sector is said to have shown just a moderate growth compared to its actual potential and global developments. The country¿s Islamic banks are said to grow further depending on whether they¿re able to improve investments, and to find sources of mid- to long-term funding for their investment activities. In the Islamic finance industry Sukuk, a form of Shariah-compliant securitization, emerged as a viable form of finance for both sovereign and corporate entities that seek for Shariah-compliant long-term financing sources. Since the international breakthrough in 2001, Sukuk certificates have been increasingly issued in various jurisdictions throughout the Middle East and Asia, and in parts of the western world. The upward rise supposedly represents the need of Islamic financial institutions for longer-term funding sources to overcome their short-term liquidity constraints.

This paper provides a comparative analysis (quantitative and qualitative) of developments and the current state of applications of Sukuk financing in Turkey and the global Islamic finance sector. Sukuk markets have surely become one of the main sections of the Islamic finance industry. Islamic banks in Turkey just recently tapped the market, though. In line with trends in global Sukuk issuances, Turkish Sukuk were sponsored by corporate entities and of the Ijarah and Murabaha Sukuk types. However, sovereign / quasi-sovereign Sukuk issuance has been globally on the rise lately. In the near future, this trend could happen to be also true for the Turkish Sukuk market.