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Brunei Ranked 12th in Global Islamic Economy Indicator

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BRUNEI Darussalam has been ranked 12th in the latest Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI), prepared by the answer company of Thomson Reuters.

Brunei made it to the top 15 list for the first time, moving up five spots replacing Egypt. The Sultanate had a big jump in the Halal Travel ranking (10 spots) and strong performance in Halal Food Ecosystem Development.

Its Halal certification-led Halal food product lines have made strong entrance in the UK market and Brunei Halal is getting due recognition as a result. Brunei also continues to benefit from being in the vicinity of Indonesia and Malaysia, two of the largest Halal sensitive Muslim travel markets, the GIEI report said.

Brunei is in top 10 in Halal Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics and also triumphant in Modest Fashion category where the Sultanate ranked in the 12th place, Halal Travel (22nd) and Islamic Finance (27th).

Malaysia topped the ranking with the score of 121 followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Pakistan were respectively positioned at fourth, fifth and sixth followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Indonesia.

Singapore held 11th position as the only country that is not a member of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, while Brunei, Sudan and Iran were put at 12th, 13th and 14th place.

The indicator is prepared to show the current health and development of the Islamic economy ecosystem. The components of the ecosystem are Halal Food, Islamic Finance, Halal Travel, Modest Fashion, Halal Media and Recreation, and Halal Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics.

The indicator does not focus on the overall size and growth trajectory of a country across the Islamic economy sectors; instead it evaluated them on relative strengths of the ecosystem they have to support the development of the Islamic economy.

Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), in partnership with Thomson Reuters and in collaboration with the Dinar Standard, a growth strategy research and advisory firm based in New York, introduced the Global Islamic Economy Indicator in 2014.

Originally published on www.borneobulletin.com.bn

Brunei Chefs Capable of Cooking Global Success

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BRUNEI chefs are skilled but they lack international recognition as they are not coming out to showcase their food creations, said renowned Singaporean chef Siti Mastura Alwi.

“Bruneians need to get rid of their humble attitude or assumption that their creations are just normal,” she told the Bulletin yesterday. “Brunei food delicacies like ‘Nasi Belutak’, or beef intestine rice, could become the Sultanate’s signature dish. I love its taste as it could not be found anywhere else.”

Chef Siti is currently in the country on invitation to judge the upcoming ‘Packed Biscuits and Cakes Ready for Export’ com-petition organised by local social marketplace Cube Junction.

“The overseas market is still not familiar with Brunei’s gastronomic delights and we need to showcase them such as through online services.”

“There are many talented local chefs out there who post their food masterpieces through the social media,” Chef Siti said, adding that there is big potential to export Brunei biscuits and cakes.

“People may wonder what is unique about Brunei food. Does the food represent Brunei? That is what is required in food products if they are to attract foreign market. One way to enhance it is through fusion – blending the traditional style with modern style,” pointed out Chef Siti, who is one of the judges of reality show MasterChef Malaysia and Principal Chef Consultant of SSA Consulting Group, Singapore.

Cube Junction CEO Ramlee bin Begawan Pehin Khatib Dato Paduka Haji Zainuddin said because of the stringent Halal procedures, Brunei food products have attracted strong interests from the Middle East, Europe, Australia and China.

There is vast potential for Halal products internationally, judging by the $3.66 trillion global Halal market.

“Through this competition, which is the first of its kind to be held, we can promote local food for export market. We will pick 50 best of the best local biscuits and 50 cakes.

“Local food products should be capable of enticing international buyers and we will groom the winners and help them reach the foreign market. Through this competition, local entrepreneurs could raise the bar of the local food industry and as a benchmark against others,” Ramlee said, adding that the contest is held to answer the government’s call to develop the local food industry.

Mentored under the Cottage and Youth Initiative Programme at iCentre and endorsed by the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cube Junction is a 100 per cent Bruneian company which offers an e-commerce and social networking platform for businesses to conduct their operations easily and securely on the Internet.

Originally published on www.borneobulletin.com.nb

Halal Tourism Gets Wider Push In Southeast Asia

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Southeast-Asia-halal-travel-marketAS THE Muslim travel market becomes a growing force worldwide, ASEAN countries are developing new strategic directions in a bid to wrestle a bigger piece of the lucrative halal tourism pie.
This fast-growing sector is projected to grow to 150 million visitors comprising 11 per cent of the global travel economy with an expenditure of US$200 billion by 2020, according to a 2015 study by Singapore-based CrescentRating.
Halal tourism is being recognised as “an opportunity market” for the Philippines, as its sizable Muslim population as well as increasing visitor arrivals from the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in recent years place it in a good position to attract more Muslim travellers, said Arturo P Boncato Jr, assistant secretary, tourism regulation, coordination and resource generation, at the Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT).
The DoT has joined hands with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos to launch the Philippines Halal Tourism Project last year to improve halal facilities in the country, according to Boncato. “We are targeting at least 50 halal certified establishments in the four major regions (Manila, Cebu, Boracay and Davao) in time for Madrid Fusion Manila in April,” he commented.
Similarly, Indonesia is positioning Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) as a Muslim-friendly destination, after the Muslim-majority island was recognised as the world’s top halal tourism and honeymoon destination at the 2015 World Halal Travel Summit in Dubai.
Indonesia minister of tourism Arief Yahya said: “The awards will sharpen Lombok’s position…especially in (attracting) travellers from the Middle East and other Muslim countries.” Aceh and West Sumatra will be touted as a role model for Muslim-friendly destinations in Indonesia.
The move will expand Lombok’s visitor source markets to Muslim travellers, commented Awan Aswinabawa, advisor to the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies NTB chapter.
“We have been getting inquiries from travellers from the neighbouring countries as well as the growing domestic market whether we have halal facilities such as restaurants and hotels,” he said. “Lombok naturally has Muslim-friendly products although not all are certified halal, so we just need to improve and highlight what we have.”

Furthermore, a halal branding will also distinguish Lombok from neighbouring Bali’s Hindu-

influenced culture or East Nusa Tenggara’s Christian-dominated culture, he opined.
Hasiyanna Ashadi, president director of Marintur Indonesia, said: “It is up to the destination how far they want to apply the label, but as a tour operator, we welcome more halal facilities to widen the choices for travellers. Even Aceh, whose rule is based on the Syariah law, has eased some of the rules for non-Muslim travellers.”
Awan, however, reminded the government to balance the halal branding and not intimidate the other markets, which have been enjoying Bali. “We do not want (non-halal) markets to think that we limit ourselves to the Muslim travellers only and apply rigid (Syariah law) in the destination,” he said.
Within South-east Asia, with the exception of Myanmar and Laos, all other countries already have their own halal certification and logo, stated Nirwan Noh, undersecretary for industry development at Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

Thomson Reuters launches Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index

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agribusiness-indexKUALA LUMPUR: Thomson Reuters today announced the launch of its Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Islamic Agribusiness Index, covering 30 Shariah-compliant companies in the Asia-Pacific region with revenues derived directly from agricultural products.

The Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index is the first index of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be tracked by the world’s first agriculture-related Islamic exchange-traded fund (ETF) provided by Malaysia’s i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd, offering investors exposure to the index, said Thomson Reuters in a statement today.

The ETF is launched today and is named MyETF Thomson Reuters Asia Pacific ex-Japan Islamic Agribusiness.

The newly-launched ETF will offer investors exposure to the performance of the index and is the first agricultural-related Islamic ETF available globally and the first Islamic sector ETF available in the region, adding to ETFs worth US$2 billion (RM8.71 billion) based on Thomson Reuters indices globally.

The Index combines Thomson Reuters’ transparent rules-based methodology with IdealRatings‘ expertise and research-based approach to Shariah-compliant screening.

In addition, the index uses Thomson Reuters Business Classification (TRBC) to select companies engaged in upstream agricultural activities. TRBC has five levels of classification enabling a more accurate and granular selection of companies.

This allows Thomson Reuters to systematically include industries and business activities that derive revenue from agricultural produce, such as dairy producers or fertiliser, while excluding activities related to agricultural product manufacturing, which are not considered to be part of the agribusiness sector, it explained.

Thomson Reuters said that it has been at the heart of Islamic finance for over 30 years, offering innovative Shariah-compliant investment and trading solutions for financial professionals. Its unrivalled data and content sets have helped investors make better decision faster.

“Thomson Reuters is delighted to add the Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index to our suite of Islamic indices,” said Thomson Reuters head of indices Stephan Flagel.

“The index provides rules-based, liquid and transparent exposure to companies within the fast growing Asian Agribusiness sector. Bringing the efficiency and transparency expected in advanced financial markets to the rapidly growing Islamic finance industry requires the provision of deep and reliable market indicators, benchmarks and terms and conditions,” he added.

The Thomson Reuters Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index is calculated in real time and will be available through Thomson Reuters Eikon. Thomson Reuters is a trusted, global provider of indices and index services, calculating over 10,000 different equity, fixed income and commodity indices.

Originally published on www.theedgemarkets.com

Islamic Banks To Dominate Financial Sector In Brunei Darrussalam

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TakafulBrunei’s financial system is transitioning to one in which Islamic banking and takaful will be the dominant forms of banking and insurance, said the Oxford Business Group (OBG), a global consultancy and research company. According to the latest publication of OBG The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2014, the country’s two Islamic banks, Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB) and Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) had combined assets of $7.9 billion at the end of 2013, representing 41 per cent of total bank assets.

“That was up from 37 per cent in 2010 and demonstrates that Islamic banking is making a steady progress towards it’s declared goal of a majority market share,” OBG said.

OBG said consolidated Islamic banking assets, including those of BIBD’s finance company subsidiary BIBD At-Tamvil, hit $8.3 billion. This is according to OBG calculations based on data from financial regulators and BIBD’s annual report. “That too is equal to 41 per cent of consolidated banking sector assets, including conventional finance companies,” OBG said.

Takaful or Islamic insurance is already dominant in the general insurance sector, OBG said, noting that takaful had a 68 per cent share of the general insurance and takaful assets in March 2014. This is up from 62 per cent in March 2011. The report said family takaful is small but catching up, with 18 per cent of total life insurance and family takaful assets in March 2014, up from 12 per cent in March 2011.

Total takaful assets came to some $444 million or 33 per cent of total insurance and takaful assets at the end of March 2014, said the report, citing figures from financial regulators. Two takaful companies compete in the insurance market, Insurance Islam TAIB, a subsidiary of TAIB and Takaful Brunei.

Both have separate subsidiaries that compete in the general takaful market (Insurance Islam TAIB General and Takaful Brunei AM) and the takaful family market (Insurance Taib family takaful and Takaful Brunei Keluarga). OBG said that Islamic banks are more aggressive than most of Brunei’s conventional banks in putting their funds to work in the domestic economy.

While Islamic banks have not yet reached a majority of banking assets, they may already make up more than half of domestic loans said the report, though added that there was still limited data. The strong focus on domestic lending is because the Islamic banks in Brunei are government linked institutions with mandate to support domestic business. The report said that most conventional banks in the Sultanate are foreign owned and take a more cautious approach to lending. Another reason is that the largest Islamic bank, BIBD, handles most public employee payroll account and since 2010 banks have been forbidden from making consumer loans to people who do not receive their primary income into an account at the bank.

The OBG said Islamic banks also have a higher non-performing loan ratio, 9.7 per cent compared to the 4.1 per cent conventional banks, citing figures provided to the International Monetary Fund by financial regulators. Despite this, OBG said that Islamic banks continue to be almost as profitable as conventional banks due to larger volume of high-earning loans. The report said that the average return on equity of Islamic banks was 9.2 per cent in the first nine months of 2013, compared to 10.9 per cent for conventional banks.

BIBD currently dominates the Islamic banking sector, accounting for about three-quarters of Islamic banking by assets said the report, citing OBG calculations from available data. OBG said TAIB is somewhat held back by its status as a trust fund, and because of this even government officials said that they would like to see at least one more Islamic bank enter the market. The OBG cited a consultant with AMBD’s banks and specialized marked division saying that there is room for two or three more banks in the Islamic segment.

Originally published on www.business.asiaone.com

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