Island kingdom Bahrain has opened a new Islamic exchange house and is launching innovative products to the market, such as an electronic trading platform, in an attempt to capture a bigger share of sharia-compliant assets. Writer Hafsa Kara

Better product segmentation and a focus on deeply underbanked markets in the Muslim world is the best way for Islamic banks to continue to expand in the context of a slower global economy.

The aftermath of the crisis has seen the reputation of conservative sharia banking soar. Four experts in the sector look at how this falling into favour is likely to affect sharia finance's short-term and long-term prospects.

HSBC Amanah's chief executive officer talks to Stephen Timewell about the developments of Islamic finance in Asia and how Malaysia is shaping up to be a key market for HSBC Amanah, and Islamic finance in general.

The deputy CEO of HSBC Amanah, Razi Fakih talks to Stephen Timewell about how the bank is balancing its focus between key traditional Islamic finance countries and products, and expanding into less well established areas.

In 2008, as conventional investment banks faced huge losses, Islamic investment banks were heralded as the last bastion of conservative, lower-risk investment, insulated by prudent management.

Asia's emergence as the healthiest engine of global economic growth is as evident in Islamic finance as it is in the conventional banking sector. The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region remains the core of Islamic finance, accounting for more than 40% of total sharia-compliant assets.

The 30 new entrants for this year's Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions ranking include some from five countries not previously represented in the survey, conveying the dynamism of a sector that continues to expand into uncharted markets.