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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是 VOA 特别英语的经济报道
Dubai's recent debt problems have brought attention to the growth of Islamic finance. A government-owned group of companies, Dubai World, has been seeking to restructure twenty-six billion dollars of debt. About six billion of it is in Islamic bonds, including a three and a half billion dollar bond set for repayment on Monday.
近期迪拜债务问题引起了对伊斯兰金融增长的关注。政府所拥有的集团 ( 迪拜世界 ) 正在寻求重组其 260 亿美元的债务。其中的 60 亿美元是伊斯兰债券,包括规定在周一偿还的 35 亿美元债券。
The biggest difference between Western and Islamic finance involves beliefs about charging interest on borrowed money. In Islam, the basic idea is that you should not make money from money itself.
西方金融与伊斯兰金融的最大区别是对贷款索要利息的理念。在伊斯兰,最基本的理念是不得钱生钱。
Instead of interest, lenders charge fees. Ghiyath Nakshbendi at American University in Washington is an expert on Islamic financing.
与利息不同,放款人收取费用。华盛顿州美国大学的 Ghiyath Nakshbendi 是伊斯兰金融方面的专家。
GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: "The bank will estimate its costs based on its fixed costs, variable costs, the cost of their employees, the rent and so on and so forth. And from that they estimate how much they are going to charge."
Ghiyath Nakshbendi :“银行将根据固定成本、变动成本、员工成本、租金等等估算成本。据此,他们估计收取的费用。”
But he points out that this system can make Islamic financing costly. The costs of the system are shared by the borrowers. The fewer the borrowers, the more each has to pay.
但是,他指出,这一体系可使伊斯兰融资昂贵。整个体系的成本由所有借款人分摊。借款人越少,每个借款人支付越多。
In many cases, Islamic financing requires the lender and borrower to share profits and losses. Ghiyath Nakshbendi explains what that means with Islamic bonds, called sukuk.
在许多情况下,伊斯兰融资要求放款人和借款人分享利润与亏损。 Ghiyath Nakshbendi 解释说,这是称为“苏库克”的伊斯兰债券。
GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: "When we talk about sukuk, we don't guarantee a certain return."
GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI :“当我们谈论苏库克时,我们不保证一定的回报。”
He says the bondholders are buying a share of a business or property. If business is good, then they could get back more than they expected. But if it fails, then there is no guarantee of repayment. Islamic bonds can be structured in different ways, but a major idea is shared profit and loss.
他说,债券持有人购买一家公司或财产的一部分。如果公司运营良好,那么他们可获得比预期多的回报。但如果公司经营不善,那么不保证偿还。伊斯兰债券可以不同方式组合,但主要理念是分享利润与亏损。
Professor Nakshbendi says Islamic lending practices are also supposed to be socially responsible.
NAKSHBENDI 教授说,伊斯兰贷款方法也被认为是有社会责任的。
In world banking, the total share of Islamic finance is less than one percent. But it is growing at a rate of fifteen to twenty percent a year. There is growing interest in Islamic banking in the West. London is becoming a center of Islamic finance. And France recently proposed changes in finance laws to protect Islamic bondholders.
在世界银行业,伊斯兰金融总额低于 1% 。但是,伊斯兰金融每年以 15-20% 增长。西方对伊斯兰银行业务越来越感兴趣。伦敦正成为伊斯兰金融的中心。另外,法国最近提出修改金融法,以保护伊斯兰债券持有人。
Estimates differ, but as much as one and a half trillion dollars may be managed under Islamic rules.
估算金额有差异,但是根据伊斯兰规则管理的金额多达 1.5 万亿美元。
Last year, the International Monetary Fund studied the financial security of Islamic banks. It found that their lack of complex products like futures and derivatives limits the ability to spread risk.
去年, IMF( 国际货币基金 ) 研究了伊斯兰银行的金融安全。 IMF 发现,由于伊斯兰金融没有诸如期货和衍生品种之类的复合产品,限制其风险扩散。
Professor Nakshbendi notes that Islamic finance does not appeal only to Muslims.
NAKSHBENDI 教授说,伊斯兰金融不仅仅对穆斯林有吸收力。
GHIYATH NAKSHENDI: "In Malaysia, the majority of customers in Islamic banks are non-Muslims."
GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI :“在马来西亚,伊斯兰银行的大部分顾客是非穆斯林。”
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.
这是 Mario Ritter 编写的 VOA 特别英语经济报道;报告,请参见 www.unsv.com 。我是 Steve Ember 。