Excerpt:
Islamic banks in the UK are disappointed that the British government has not included any of them as issuers of its first Islamic bond.
The UK is staking its claim as the western centre for Islamic finance by becoming the first non-Muslim country to sell a government bond, expected in the next few weeks, that complies with the religion's ban on interest, selling £200m in a five year investment.
However, Islamic banks based in London have expressed surprise that they were not included as one of the five institutions hired to issue the bonds, or sukuk.