Malaysia To Be A Global Islamic Finance Hub, Says Amiruddin

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is on the right track towards becoming a leading global Islamic finance hub in the near future.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ir Amiruddin Hamzah said this in the Dewan Negara on Monday in response to a question from Senator Asmak Husin.

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

Malaysia was also involved in the global initiative to establish the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) in 2010 for strengthening liquidity management of Islamic banks.

Amiruddin said Malaysian banks were also appointed the arranger and manager for sovereign Sukuk issuance of other countries, including Turkey and Hong Kong, which goes to prove that Malaysian Islamic finance expertise is increasingly acknowledged internationally.

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) offered master degrees and doctorates that can provide the expertise needed to bring the sector to the international level.

“In 2018, through its Islamic finance post-graduate programmes, INCEIF was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which placed the center among the top five percent 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) specializes in applied research in Fiqh Muamalat (Islamic law dealing with finance and commerce), and provides advisory services on matters related to Islamic finance for African and Commonwealth countries.