Malaysia on track to becoming global Islamic finance hub, says deputy minister

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Malaysia is on the right track towards becoming a leading global Islamic finance hub in the near future, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ir. Amiruddin Hamzah.

He said among the advantages possessed by the country is the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM), established in 2010 with the cooperation of 12 central banks, whose function is to pioneer government initiatives involving the development of Islamic finance at the international level.

“The Thomson Reuters’ Islamic Finance Development Report 2018 showed that Malaysia remains as a leader among 56 countries for Islamic finance institutions.

“This illustrates that setting up of the IILM in 2010 as a government ‘frontier’ to develop Malaysia’s Islamic finance sector at the international level was the correct step towards making Kuala Lumpur as the best global Islamic finance hub,” he said in Parliament today in response to a question from Senator Asmak Huin.

Amiruddin said Bank Negara Malaysia was also appointed the arranger and manager for the sovereign sukuk issuance of other countries, including Turkey and Hong Kong, which goes to prove that Malaysia is increasingly acknowledged internationally as a leading Islamic finance hub.

Responding to Asmak’s supplementary question on the government’s plan to increase the talent pool and human capital involved in Islamic finance, the deputy minister said the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) offers bachelor degrees and doctorates that can provide the expertise needed to bring the sector to the international level.

“In 2018, through its Islamic finance bachelor and doctorate programmes, INCEIF was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business which placed the centre among the top five per cent of international institutes which offer business and Islamic finance programmes,” he said.

Amiruddin added that the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) also offers bachelor and doctorate programmes on Fiqh Muamalat (Islamic law dealing with finance and commerce), and the academy was also a negotiator on matters relating to Islamic finance for African and Commonwealth countries. — Bernama