Exclusive interview with Islamic Development Bank's Zamir Iqbal: In uncertain global markets, China gains attention for its stability and innovation

Ask AI · How do Islamic bonds promote the integration of China and Islamic financial markets?

Cailian Press, April 2 (Reporter Li Ting, Gao Ping) “Against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty, China’s market continues to attract international capital with its stability and innovation potential.” On March 31, at the ICMA China Debt Capital Market 2026 Annual Conference, Zamir Iqbal, Vice President (Finance) and Chief Financial Officer of the Islamic Development Bank, said in an exclusive interview with Cailian Press reporters:

Zamir Iqbal said that the Islamic financial market—its size is nearly $5 trillion—offers broad room for cooperation with China’s market, and that Islamic bonds (Sukuk) are expected to become an important financial bridge connecting the two major markets.

Cailian Press: From the perspective of foreign investors, how do you assess the current state of China’s market? Is it a period of adjustment, a recovery period, or a period of strategic planning?

**Zamir Iqbal: ** I believe foreign investors currently face many opportunities. As the Islamic Development Bank, we only issue financial instruments called “Islamic bonds” (Sukuk). From this perspective, we are very eager to explore this market, and we hope to help some Chinese issuers understand how they can benefit from the Islamic bond market.

Cailian Press: Compared with previous cycles, what unique characteristics does the logic behind foreign investment in China have at this stage?

**Zamir Iqbal: ** At present, global financial markets are going through a very uncertain period, so it is difficult to accurately predict investors’ behavior. But I think that in times of crisis, investors always pursue quality and look for safer places. In this sense, China’s market is often more stable, which may make it somewhat attractive and provide investors with options to diversify their investment portfolios.

Cailian Press: Currently, which industry tracks do global investors believe offer the most long-term opportunities in China?

**Zamir Iqbal: ** I’m not sufficiently familiar with China’s subdivided sector tracks, but overall, as everyone can see, areas such as digitalization, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and data centers are becoming hot topics of discussion. Automation and robotics technologies may also be frontier technologies that investors are very eager to participate in.

Cailian Press: What new growth drivers do you think are emerging in China that attract overseas capital?

**Zamir Iqbal: ** I believe innovation is always an area of extremely high interest to investors. Innovation opens up new frontiers for investors, especially in the areas mentioned just now—digitalization, artificial intelligence, robotics—and in specific industries such as healthcare, which will be especially appealing.

Cailian Press: How do recent optimizations in China’s capital market openness and regulatory environment affect foreign investors’ confidence and allocation decisions?

**Zamir Iqbal: ** Global investors place great value on information transparency, a well-established regulatory framework, and information disclosure mechanisms. The continued development of both domestic and overseas markets in China has been very encouraging for investors, which will boost market confidence and inject stronger momentum into the market’s next phase of growth.

I want to specifically talk about Islamic bonds. We have noticed that market interest in them is increasing. Islamic bonds can play a bridging role between the Islamic financial market and China’s market. I believe regulatory authorities need to pay more attention to and better understand this market, so as to further promote its openness and acceptance.

The Islamic financial market’s size has nearly reached $5 trillion; liquidity is abundant, and it is looking for high-quality investment opportunities. Local regulatory authorities can treat Islamic bonds as an acceptable bond category, thereby opening the door. Although China’s policymakers have already done a great deal of work to reform the capital markets, opportunities such as Islamic finance still need to be explored.

(Cailian Press reporter Gao Ping)