Sultan Nazrin Becomes Royal Patron For Malaysia's Islamic Finance Initiative

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah Muizzuddin Shah, has consented to be the Royal Patron for Malaysia’s Islamic Finance Initiative, Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysia's central bank) announced Wednesday. On behalf of the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) Executive Committee, the central bank said under the patronage of Sultan Nazrin, it was envisaged that Malaysia’s Islamic finance marketplace would continue to further strengthen the goodwill and strong bilateral relationships the country has established with other nations. "Malaysia’s Islamic finance marketplace has emerged as one of the key destinations in Islamic finance, particularly in Islamic banking, sukuk, Islamic equities and takaful markets. "The marketplace is today characterised by a robust regulatory, supervisory, Shariah and legal framework, a deep primary and active secondary sukuk market, an efficient price discovery mechanism, a diverse talent base with global capabilities, and an efficient system for multi-currency clearing and settlement," it said in a statement. Sultan Nazrin obtained a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. The MIFC Executive Committee was formed in mid-2006 to provide strategic direction and drive implementation of policies and strategies towards achieving the national agenda of developing Malaysia as a premier international Islamic financial marketplace. -- BERNAMA