Tunisia sets up Islamic finance working group

The Tunisian government has set up a working group that will study how to develop Islamic finance in the country, a finance ministry official said. The group, which includes representatives from the central bank, stock exchange and private sector institutions including Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, will look at the country's legal framework, said Karima Rezk, a director at the ministry.
Before last year's uprisings, authoritarian governments in Tunisia and other North African countries restricted or refused to promote Islamic finance for ideological reasons. A moderate Islamist party dominates the government which took power through last October's elections. The working group aims to meet weekly and come up with proposals for action within a few months, Rezk said.