Islamic Banking On Track To Meet 40 Pct Of Total Financing Target

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's Islamic banking sector is on track to meet its target of 40 per cent of total financing by 2020, driven by the industry's ability to continuously tap opportunities to finance the activities of the real economy. Malaysia's Central Bank (Bank Negara Malaysia or BNM) Deputy Governor, Muhammad Ibrahim, said the continued progress of Islamic finance in the country would very much depend on the industry's resourcefulness to build and maintain an innovative, competitive and inclusive Islamic finance industry. "Furthermore, our continuous efforts to initiate cross-border regulators and industry, as well as between regulators and international bodies, would further expand cross-border activities given a steady and strong regulatory and supervisory framework already put in place," he said. Muhammad said this in his speech at the launch of Malaysia Islamic Finance Report 2015 Tuesday. The report was launched in strategic partnership between CIMB Islamic, Thomson Reuters, the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions and the Islamic Research and Training Institute. Muhammad said from 2006 to end-2014, foreign issuers had issued sukuk amounting to an estimated US$7.49 billion (RM28 billion) in various currencies in the Malaysian marketplace. "These indications showed that businesses are seeing the economic and business merit of Shariah-compliant products and services and that its appeal extend beyond the traditional captive market," he added. However, he noted that growth of the magnitude that Islamic finance experienced over the last decade would increasingly become more difficult if the industry did not continue to be nimble and agile in its approach. Therefore, he said the key priority was for Islamic finance players to keep expanding and gain market share. "Greater engagement and collaboration between the industry and academia would also ensure mutually-reinforcing efforts in driving innovation through the development and implementation of new research findings and breakthroughs," he said. -- BERNAMA