Ireland could have been first to issue Islamic bond, says expert

Ireland has missed an opportunity to raise its markets profile in the Middle East and southern Asia by letting Britain become the first western country to issue an Islamic bond, according to a member of the Taoiseach's influential IFSC Clearing House Group.

Last week, British chancellor George Osborne announced that Britain will launch the first sovereign Islamic bond, or sukuk, by a non-Muslim country. But Islamic finance specialist Noel Lourdes, of Dublin-based firm ...