صناديق الاستثمار ودورها في تنمية واستخدام الموارد : دراسة تطبيقية علي صناديق الاستثمار السعودية

Abstract

Abstract Praise goes to Allah and prayers be on Prophet Mohamed, the last ofprophets. The most important findings ofthe study may be summed as follows: The forms and methods used by Islamic financial institutions have become tools that governments and firms to compete. The previous years have witnessed huge activity in issuance ofinvestment instruments based on sa/am, ijarah and isIisl1a‘a as well as other Islamic investment forms. These were issued by central governments and regional and international institutions of finance. What is remarkable about this industry is that it grows at very high rates that exceed 20% per annum. This, in tum, reflects the ever increasing significance of finance activity in accordance with Islamic Sharia. The study shows that the tiny contribution of the finance industry to development does not match its huge rate of growth. The study reveals that the bulk of investment ventures by Islamic finance institutions headed towards short-term investments, as the financial resources available to them are generally of short-tenn nature. This has limited the liberty of the institutions to choose investments that suit their nature in the field of long-tenn investment. It also appears that the experience of Islamic mutual funds, which became active in the last few years, has continued on the same track. These funds also focus on short-tenn investment. However, a new drive is taking shape, within finance institutions, be they traditional or Islamic, to set up funds targeting funding of infrastructure projects in developing nations, in general, and Islamic ones, in particular; as these institutions deem infrastructure projects a profitable sector. The field study shows that Saudi funds have managed to mobilize and accumulate a huge volume of financial resources over the last years. In I998, the assets of these funds amounted to 22.5 billion Saudi riyals, whereas the figures reached SRl36.8b. in 2005 — an increase of 26% over the period of 1998-2005. Nevertheless, these assets also focus on short-term investment, seeking capital profits through financial speculation. Therefore, real investment had very negligible share in the investment drive of the Saudi funds — a matter which renders their impact on financing development insignificant if not totally n0n—existent. The study presents several recommendations, chief amongst them are: I. to mobilize savings in terms of Islamic long-tenn investment tools, so that investment funds and portfolios may direct these savings to fund long-term projects to maximize yields on both individual and economy levels; 2. to set up investment funds to serve as an integrating tool to streamline financial, agrarian and human resources in the Islamic world.