Exploring novel Islamic finance methods in support of OIC exports

Purpose - This paper aims to propose a new Islamic trade finance framework for Islamic financial institution (FIs) to support exports in Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries. Design Methodology Approach: - This paper introduces and proposes the recently developed Islamic finance methods of the supplier financing Wakala agreement, restricted Mudaraba and award-winning Export Credit Agency (ECA) export finance structures from the aspects of Shari’ah compliance, efficiency, simplicity for traders and risk management. This paper uses the approach of critical realism. The three-stratum approach is appropriate for Islamic product development, where the real, the actual and the empirical can be observed. Findings: - The author argues that the ECA export financing structures, or restricted Mudaraba if preferred, with an embedded supplier financing Wakala agreement can pave the way for Islamic FIs to support exporting companies. It is also concluded that development and support of the Takaful industry are vital for the success of Islamic export financing schemes because of its role in risk management. Originality Value: - Although very active in import financing with standard Murabaha contracts, Islamic FIs are still not able to meet the need for financing the expanding exports of OIC countries. Because of the difficulty in developing products that are both efficient and Shari’ah-compliant, export financing is the most controversial issue for the Islamic trade finance industry. Existing or proposed export finance products are heavily criticised by concerned Muslims, as they include bill discounting, akin to factoring in conventional finance. This paper introduces methods aimed at overcoming the inadequacy of existing structures.