98
Unfortunately, the percentage of the ICM, particularly sukuk (only USD30.12 billion), against
total Islamic finance assets is rather low compared to Islamic banking assets, which
contributed 44% (USD 163.12 billion) of the UAE’s GDP as at end-December 2016, as depicted
in Chart 4.16.
Chart 4.16: UAE’s Islamic Banking Assets and Outstanding Sukuk (2012–2016)
Sources: DIEDC (2017a), Bloomberg
Nonetheless, Chart 4.17 shows that the overall UAE capital market (conventional and Islamic)
grew from just USD31.39 billion (14%) in 2006 to USD153.07 billion (44%) in 2016, an
increase of about 30%. Concerted efforts by the Dubai and Abu Dhabi governments have
played significant roles in this development. Dubai, in particular, has undertaken major
construction and infrastructure projects such as hotels, roads and parks in the lead-up to its
role as the host of World Expo 2020.
Chart 4.17: UAE’s Outstanding Capital Markets vs Bank Financing Relative to GDP
Sources: World Bank, The Global Economy, Bloomberg, ISRA estimates
Despite the low penetration of the ICM relative to the Islamic banking industry in the UAE,
numerous initiatives have been undertaken by the UAE government, particularly the Dubai
government, to spearhead the growth of the ICM. Based on the methodology adopted for this