CIMB Islamic, IDB Develop Reports To Promote Islamic Finance Industry Growth

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- CIMB Islamic is joining hands with Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group to develop Islamic Finance Country Reports (IFCR) on Malaysia and Indonesia, as a strategy to facilitate the growth and development of the Islamic finance industry in IDB Group member countries. IDB, via Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI), has signed a memorandum of understanding with CIMB Islamic to provide in-depth information on Islamic finance. CIMB Islamic Bank Chief Executive Officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said stakeholders within the industry need to be adequately equipped with the necessary knowledge and better understanding to steer the business towards new directions within the Islamic finance industry. "IFCRs will provide the industry with valuable knowledge resources towards enhancing the Islamic finance industry and cater to the growing number of customers in the real economy through well-structured, sustainable and innovative products and services," he said in a statement issued from Riyadh Friday. The upcoming IFCR for 2014 is dedicated to Malaysia, which is a leading international and regional hub for Islamic finance in the Asian region. The Malaysian Islamic banking sector, with a 13 per cent share of the total global Islamic banking assets, has continuously outperformed the conventional banking sector with average annual asset growth rate of 18.6 per cent during 2008-2012 while conventional banking grew at 9.3 per cent in the same period. The Islamic banking assets in Malaysia are estimated at over RM441.844 billion (US$132 billion), while Indonesia's Islamic banking assets grew by 24.2 per cent to 242.3 trillion rupiah (US$21.4 billion) in 2013. -- BERNAMA