| Cigarettes and alcohol, are, naturally, out. Neither McDonalds nor Ladbrokes would find favour with Islamic investors. But investors who are more typically used to counting fuel in barrels of oil have taken to the UK’s burgeoning renewable energy market with enthusiasm. Wind power and the stable, bond-like returns it promises to investors have convinced First Islamic Investment Bank to make its first step into the UK’s complex renewable energy market. Producing electricity from wind may currently be more costly than generating it from the black stuff, but Islamic investors are hoping that getting in at the early stages of the Europe-wide push to reduce carbon emissions will pay long-term dividends. |