Kuwaiti property ranks third in volume of Islamic finance with funds reaching USD 13 billion at a growth rate of 32 percent, and this is expected to rise to USD 56 billion by the end of 2010 at an annual growth rate of 20 percent, said a Kuwait Real Estate Bank (KREB) report Monday.

The report on the Islamic finance industry in 2006 said sector institutions registered profits exceeding 50 percent, which indicated continued market growth during 2006.

It noted assets of Islamic Sharia-compliant banks and investment companies reached USD 38 billion.

Growth in Kuwait's Islamic service market brought the figures to USD 15.3 billion in 2006 compared to USD 22.7 billion in 2005 and USD 16 billion in 2004.

As for the GCC, the report said bank assets exceeded USD 645 billion, while assets of the Islamic finance industry reached USD 84 billion at an annual growth rate of 35 percent, the highest since 2001.

Average growth over the past five years, it said, was around 21.5 percent. The report predicted the industry would be worth USD 210 billion by 2010.

KREB said the industry witnessed much development in 2006 at the local, regional, and international levels, noting that Arab-Islamic nations were home to 100 out of the 300 Islamic finance institutions.