” to cover the bonds and t - bills market. however, although the concept of islamic finance has generated a lot of interest and overwhelming support from both muslim and non - muslim population in kenya, as a regulator, we have faced certain challenges which i wish to share with this gathering. key among these are : a ) islamic banking prohibits interest and allows profit sharing. however, most of our prudential returns and disclosure report formats were tailored for institutions which have the element of interest in their financials. we have therefore tailored our returns and disclosures formats to cater for the new market niche ; b ) the banking act prohibits wholesale trading and restrict holding land and buildings while sharia compliant lending has an element of trading and land and building. however, this challenge has been cured through granting of exemptions to institutions concerned upon request. but also we are happy that this allows theses banks and their clients to endogenise risk ; c ) the law requires all banks to pay interest on savings accounts as long as the minimum balance is maintained. this challenge has also been addressed by incorporating in the banking act the leeway for banks to give some form of return for shariah - compliant savings products. it is worth noting that the two fully fledged shariah - compliant banks currently boast of 1570 loan accounts and 58, 548 deposit accounts and control 0. 8 percent of banking sector ’ s net assets after being in operation for less than two years. these developments have enabled the formerly unbanked kenyans and specifically the muslim community in the marginal areas have access to financial services adding to the wealth creation in the economy. this is a solid testimony of the vast potential of islamic finance in kenya, which should be tapped, and opportunities explored in the insurance ( takaful ) and capital market segments using sharia compliant vehicles. on the regional front, there is a move by the countries in the region to permit their institutions to offer islamic products. central bank of kenya is therefore sharing its experience in shariah - compliant banking with other central banks in the east african community. therefore, there is growing interest in shariah - compliant banking in our neighbouring countries and kenya has the potential to be regional islamic finance hub. this is tandem with vision 2030 aspirations. under this vision, one of the key aspirations for the financial sector is positioning of nairobi as a regional financial hub by 2030. with these few remarks, it is now remains for me to wish you very fruitful delibe

and opening policy, the production and transaction activities of enterprises and the banking credit business are under the planned economy. the sole ownership by the state blurred the relationships of interest by different participants of transactions, which not only weakened china ’ s traditional credit culture, but also influenced the evolvement of china ’ s traditional credit culture to the modern credit culture. therefore, establishing china ’ s modern credit culture in line with the development of socialist market economy is of urgent necessity as the reform and opening policy is steadily promoted. the main difference between “ modern credit culture ” and “ china ’ s traditional credit culture ” lies in its unique social, institutional, professional and commercial features. credit is hence no longer solely based on the assessment of individuals of the borrower who they know personally but also on assessment of others that the borrower has no direct contact at all, is no longer solely based on ethics but also on legal and institutional rules, is no longer solely based on information obtained from face - toface contacts but also on the analysis and judgment of a specialized third - party, and no longer is limited to the use of borrower and lender, but also acquires the nature of public goods. these features of modern credit culture develop it into a huge industry and hence have a far - reaching impact on the social and economic life. the chinese government is fully aware of the importance of establishment of china ’ s modern credit culture. the third plenum of the 16th central committee of cpc has put forward clearly that “ efforts shall be made to establish and improve the social credit system, in a bid to form the social credit system supported by ethics, based on property rights and safeguarded by laws, which constitutes necessary conditions for constructing the modern market system ” and that “ efforts shall also be made to speed up construction of the corporate and personal credit service system in accordance with the direction of improving laws and rules, operating by franchise, commercial management and specialized services. ” corporate and personal credit is the foundation and core for social credit. premier wen jiabao has emphasized on several occasions that efforts shall be made to speed up the construction of unified national basic database for corporate and personal credit reporting, to step up credit reporting legislation, to promote development of credit reporting sector, to actively develop specialized credit reporting agencies, to open the credit reporting market step by step by setting priorities, to establish gradually the system of punishment against default on credit, to standardize operation of credit reporting agencies and to strengthen supervision and management of the credit