Excerpt:
The UK's much anticipated issue of a £200mn Islamic bond, or sukuk, is likely to attract interest from both Muslim and non-Muslim investors, according to the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Fiona Woolf.
Speaking to the Gulf Times at her office in the heart of the City, she said: "People tend to think that Islamic finance is of interest to the Muslim world. But I think it is of interest to the non-Muslim world as well. It is based on a responsible, ethical investment mindset and there is a lot of appetite for that."
Over the last month, Woolf spoke at two of the many meetings convened by Baroness Warsi, who established and co-chaired the UK government's first Ministerial Task Force on Islamic Finance, to 'think through the next steps' in connection with the sterling sovereign issue scheduled for September for which HSBC and Linklaters have the mandate.