Malaysia retains spotlight as leading Islamic finance centre

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's progress and maturity in the development of its Islamic finance eco-system is ahead of other Islamic finance markets.

This observation was based on reports produced by RAM Ratings and the International Shari'ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) for the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC).

The market studies, which had been conducted in several jurisdictions, include comprehensive engagements with regulators and market participants, which played a critical role in supporting the policy recommendations proposed in the reports.

The Role of Sukuk in Islamic Capital Markets is a comprehensive analysis of the part played by sukuk in the development of a country's economy. Comparative assessments are made on matured (such as Malaysia) and developing (the UAE, Indonesia, Turkey, Hong Kong) Islamic capital markets, as well as those in their infancy (Nigeria).

Ultimately, the lessons gleaned from a country's progress in nurturing its Islamic financial arena can be employed benchmarks vis-à-vis accelerating or jump-starting another nation's development efforts.

On the other hand, Islamic Fund Management reviews the development of the Islamic fund-management industry and analyses the factors required to support its sustainable growth.

“In determining these factors, comparisons are made between countries experiencing different stages of market progress – Malaysia as a matured market, Pakistan as a developing one (but at the advanced stage), South Africa also as a developing market (albeit in the intermediate stage), and Morocco as one still in its infancy.

“Based on our research, a key measure of success for any Islamic fund market is the extent to which it unlocks and promotes opportunities for wealth creation as well as capital formation.”