Muslim Spending Estimated at US$2.02 Trillion In 2019

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Spending on Islamic economic sectors across the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, fashion, travel and media/recreation sectors by 1.9 billion Muslims is estimated to grow 3.2 per cent year-on-year to US$2.02 trillion in 2019, according to the Global Islamic Economy Report 2020/21 by DinarStandard. The report said the global Islamic economy continues to be underpinned by eight key drivers, including a large and expanding Muslim population, an increasing adherence to Islamic ethical values impacting consumption, and a growing number of national strategies dedicated to halal products and service development. In addition, the report estimated that the value of Islamic finance assets increased by 13.9 per cent to $2.88 trillion in 2019 from US$2.52 trillion in 2018. “The pandemic is forecast to result in an eight per cent decrease in global Muslim spending in 2020 for the Islamic economy sectors covered in this report. “All of these sectors, except travel, are expected to return to pre-pandemic spending levels by the end of 2021,” the report said. Muslim spending is also anticipated to reach US$2.4 trillion by 2024 at a five-year Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.1 per cent. Meanwhile, investments in Islamic economy-relevant sectors across Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries and select non-OIC markets fell by 13 per cent to US$11.8 billion in 2019/20 from US$13.6 billion in 2018/19, with Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates saw the highest number of investments. The number of relevant mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions also fell to 156 in 2019/20 from 197 in 2018/19. The top five countries in terms of the number of investment deals maintained their ranking, with Indonesia attracting a large share of investments, followed by Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In terms of sectors, halal food and Islamic finance comprised 52 per cent and 42 per cent of the total deal value of US$11.8 billion, respectively. The report also highlighted that Malaysia leads the overall Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI) rankings for the eighth consecutive year. “Malaysia has shown consistent growth across all the sectors, with export to OIC numbers increasing in food, pharmaceuticals, and media and recreation. “Strong awareness and governance credentials have allowed Malaysia to rank higher than other countries with larger export volumes,” it added. -- BERNAMA