Renowned as a captive insurance and reinsurance financial centre, Bermuda is now keen to provide sharia-compliant versions of these products to the Islamic world, according to the country’s premier, Craig Cannonier, who was in London at the end of October to attend the World Islamic Economic Forum. “Governments have to be more agile and [need a level of] diversification that they never had to consider before. It is important for us to be here [at the forum, talking about Islamic finance],” he said.
So far, Bermuda has concentrated on attracting foreign direct investment from Muslim investors who hold large interests in the hospitality business and have already invested heavily in Bermuda-based funds, including sharia-compliant funds, according to consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers.