Gold Standard in Islamic Finance ‘Almost There'

``"We are almost there" with a final proposal, said Mohd Daud Bakar, a Shariah scholar who is writing the draft for the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, the Bahrain-based industry group that sets Shariah standards in finance... "Hundreds of tons" of new demand could be created, said Natalie Dempster, a managing director of the World Gold Council. "The standard would fill an important gap in the market. '' ... The gold standard is expected to be completed later this year, and public hearings could be held in Morocco and Dubai and possibly Indonesia or Malaysia, Bakar said.