Islamic finance assets set to hit USD 9.6 trillion by 2030 as sector shifts into ‘connector’ role

Global Islamic finance assets are forecast to climb to USD 9.6 trillion by 2030, up from an estimated USD 6.2 trillion in 2025, driven by Islamic banking’s continued role as the industry’s main growth engine, according to a new report from Standard Chartered.

The report, titled “The Islamic Finance Connector Era,” finds that Islamic finance assets grew 13% in 2025 alone, with the sector now spanning close to 100 jurisdictions. Sukuk outstanding stood at USD 1 trillion in 2025, while Islamic banking remains systemically important in 15 countries, according to LSEG analysis based on the Islamic Finance Development Indicator cited in the report.

Standard Chartered argues that the next phase of expansion will be defined less by how much capital is available and more by how effectively institutions can move that capital across borders.

Khurram Hilal, chief executive of Group Islamic Banking at Standard Chartered, said Islamic finance had reached a scale where its role was evolving beyond funding into that of a “connector” of regions, liquidity, and digital infrastructure.

The report identifies three priority corridors it believes are becoming strategic resilience plays for financial institutions: routes linking the GCC with ASEAN and Africa; China-centred corridors extending into the Gulf, Southeast Asia and Africa; and a Middle East-Turkey corridor, where bilateral trade grew roughly sevenfold year-on-year to USD 61.7 billion in 2024.

Each, the report says, offers scope to diversify away from traditional settlement routes and reduce concentration risk amid heightened geopolitical volatility.

On the liquidity side, the report flags a persistent imbalance. Islamic funds rose 37% in value in 2025 and sukuk issuance increased 14.5%, pushing outstanding sukuk above USD 1 trillion.

Yet issuance activity remains concentrated in the GCC and ASEAN, with South Asia and Africa together accounting for just 6% of capital raised through sukuk in 2025, a gap the report frames as an execution shortfall rather than a shortage of underlying financing needs.

It points to African sukuk issuance, which rose from USD 1.25 billion in 2024 to USD 4.48 billion in 2025, and Egypt’s fully subscribed USD 1 billion sovereign sukuk in June 2025, as evidence that channels connecting GCC liquidity to underpenetrated markets are beginning to deepen.

Private credit is also emerging as a mainstream deployment channel, the report notes, with allocations to emerging markets reaching a record USD 22.3 billion in 2025 as investors look beyond crowded developed-market opportunities.

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Digital infrastructure features as a further growth lever. Global real-time payment volumes are projected to rise from 266.2 billion transactions in 2023 to 575.1 billion by 2028, with the Middle East the fastest-growing regional market.

Tokenised financial assets are expected to reach roughly USD 2 trillion globally by 2030, and the report highlights early moves such as Malaysia’s first tokenised sukuk, priced under the Sukuk Danum programme, and Standard Chartered’s 2026 integration of USDC minting and redemption with Circle Internet Group.

Standard Chartered, which describes itself as the only international bank with a global Islamic banking franchise, said it operates Islamic banking capabilities in more than 30 markets and has ranked as the top bookrunner in international sukuk league tables between 2021 and the first half of 2026.

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The report’s projections draw on LSEG’s “Islamic Investment Review 2025” and “Islamic Finance Development Report,” alongside data from the International Monetary Fund, Fitch Ratings, and DinarStandard.