Islamic finance asset management is booming globally, with countries in south-east Asia and the Gulf spearheading growth, thanks in part to improved investor confidence, regulations and infrastructure. 

Observers are already predicting that 2014 will be a record-breaking year for sukuk issuance. While the majority of deals are currently coming out of Malaysia, CIMB Islamic's CEO believes that developments in the pipeline will see the asset class grow its international presence.

The relatively small economies of Vietnam and Cambodia are punching above their weight in terms of growth in The Banker’s latest Association of South-east Asian Nations ranking. Meanwhile, Singapore’s banks retain their dominance in the ranking in terms of Tier 1 capital. 

With sharia-compliant investments outperforming their 'conventional' counterparts, appetite for these products can only be expected to grow. But the industry is still too fragmented, according to Ian Lancaster of Cogent Asset Management, with a lack of cross-border connectivity preventing it from achieving critical mass.

Three senior figures from the Islamic finance industry discuss how sharia-compliant project finance has fared in 2013 after a stellar decade, and look at its prospects – with a particular focus on sukuk – for 2014 and beyond.

Year upon year, the Islamic finance industry posts stellar growth figures. However, as large Western lenders withdraw from the sector, is Islamic finance in as healthy a shape as the figures suggest? The Banker asks a number of experts in the field what the future holds for sharia-compliant banking.