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Friday, July 31, 2009

Islamic Finance Centre Launched by Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters today announced the addition of the Islamic Finance Centre on the Westlaw Business global legal platform.

Westlaw Business combines transactional and legal guidance with tools designed specifically for business lawyers. "The Islamic Finance Centre leverages the best assets from across Thomson Reuters, along with legal guidance from, and in close partnership with, Islamic finance standards boards," said Kevin Ritchey, senior vice president, Westlaw Business. "It is the first legal resource of its kind designed specifically for lawyers working on Sharia-compliant transactions. Our goal is to advance transparency and legal insight into this growing area of practice to better serve legal professionals on a global basis."

The Westlaw Business Islamic Finance Centre is a unique service, including deals, documents and precedents, as well as terms and conditions on over 6,000 Sharia-compliant deals. The Centre features standards from Islamic finance boards, and also highlights coverage of industry events, trends, news and exclusive expert guidance; discussions of recent developments in Islamic finance regions; and relevant legislation and case law.

Westlaw Business is seen as a key global platform for business lawyers. "To develop the new Islamic Finance Centre on Westlaw Business required an extraordinary level of teamwork across Thomson Reuters," said Helen Owers, chief operating officer for Thomson Reuters, Legal. "Islamic finance is an underserved and rapidly expanding market, and Thomson Reuters is delighted to advance this space and help position lawyers around the world to grow it even further."

The Islamic finance market, estimated at $700 billion to $1 trillion in assets, is growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent annually. "The Islamic Finance Centre on Westlaw Business is the first of its kind in the legal community," said Rushdi Siddiqui, global head of Islamic Finance and OIC Countries for Thomson Reuters. "The Centre will provide a unique level of transparency into Islamic finance deals for the global community in these challenging times. It will become the global go-to platform for examining industry body regulations and standards, as well as central bank policies relating to Islamic finance, for lawyers, investment bankers and product-structuring teams."

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