play in the provision of sound and stable islamic finance services. epilogue islamic finance has grown into an industry that is indispensable in understanding the global financial system. the bank of japan will closely follow developments in the islamic finance industry through its ifsb observer membership status. japanese financial institutions and companies have just stepped into the world of islamic finance. we hear that some financial institutions are already actively engaged in islamic finance business by cultivating new markets and setting up local companies. some companies are already introducing the framework of islamic finance to finance their projects. i am convinced that we will be seeing more in the near future. i would like to close my remarks by expressing my hopes that the proceedings of this symposium will deepen understanding of islamic finance among japanese financial institutions and companies, and that it presents an opportunity for the creation of new financial services. thank you for your kind attention.

toshihiko fukui : islamic finance a€ “ developments, diversity and challenges opening remarks by mr toshihiko fukui, governor of the bank of japan, at the nikkei islamic finance symposium 2008 : " islamic finance : constant evolution and emerging opportunities ", tokyo, 23 february 2008. * * * introduction it is a true honor and pleasure to be invited to the nikkei islamic finance symposium, and to have the opportunity to share my thoughts about islamic finance along with governor zeti of bank negara malaysia and distinguished guests. the bank of japan joined the islamic financial services board ( ifsb ) as an observer last year. we believe that this will help us deepen our understanding of the latest developments in islamic finance, which has rapidly evolved and come into the spotlight of global finance. development of islamic finance islamic finance has developed phenomenally in recent years. there are no precise figures that show the market size of the islamic finance industry, but according to an estimate by the ifsb and other islamic institutes at the end of 2005, more than 300 financial institutions in more than 65 jurisdictions manage financial assets in a shari'ah compatible manner, which total between us $ 700 billion and 1 trillion. from this figure, islamic finance represents a modest 1 % of global financial assets, but its growth in recent years is notably impressive. islamic finance related assets have continued to grow at a robust 10 - 15 % per annum on average since the mid - 90s, and are expected to maintain this speed of expansion over the next few years. among others, asia is one of the regions characterized by the dynamic development of islamic finance. to give a few examples, islamic finance products are estimated to comprise more than half of the financial services provided in the gulf cooperation council region by 2015. in malaysia, more than half of private debt securities are islamic bonds. the credit for this must go to the leadership of governor zeti, who has adopted a variety of policy measures to make malaysia an islamic financial center. islamic finance has a long history. as a place where the three continents of asia, africa and europe meet, the middle east has flourished as a trading center since antiquity. in those days, there were active financial transactions in funding and settlement for trade. it is said that bills and checks already circulated in the 11th century, and that the word " check " has its origin in farsi. islamic finance has a long - established tradition, yet, it is only rather recently that islamic finance has developed