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hi, this is an interesting update on the malaysia market.
it looks as malaysia is getting the hottest islamic finance market worldwide:
Bloomberg:
Malaysia’s Islamic Banking Assets Climb to 20 Percent of Total
Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Islamic banking in Malaysia, the world’s biggest market for sukuk, rose 21 percent in the first seven months of 2010 from a year earlier, and accounted for 20 percent of the total, the government said in a report.
Assets that comply with the religion’s ban on interest climbed to 337.6 billion ringgit ($109 billion), according to the 2010-2011 Economic Report from the Ministry of Finance issued today. Shariah-compliant household loans increased 26 percent to 134.4 billion ringgit and made up 64 percent of total Islamic financing, it said.
“Malaysia remains at the forefront of Islamic finance, with average growth of 20 percent in the past five years” as the nation promotes itself as the global hub for products and services that adhere to Shariah law, the report said. “The Islamic capital market plays a significant role in providing an alternative source for capital fund raising.”
The Southeast Asian nation, where about 60 percent of the 27 million population are Muslim, lowered foreign-ownership limits in financial institutions in 2009 to attract more international investors. The central bank has issued Islamic licenses over the past year to global funds that include Aberdeen Asset Management Plc and Franklin Templeton Investments.
Islamic Insurance
Sukuk issued in Malaysia total $83.5 billion, accounting for 65 percent of the global amount outstanding, the ministry said. The $1 trillion Islamic finance industry has expanded 20 percent annually since 2000 and is among the fastest-growing in the global banking industry, according to an April report from the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board.
Malaysia will intensify measures to make the capital market more efficient and competitive to support sukuk issuance, the ministry said, without providing details.
Islamic insurance, or takaful, which is based on the Koranic principle of mutual assistance whereby members are the insurers as well as the insured, rose to take a 9 percent share of the total industry as of July, from 8 percent at the end of last year, the ministry said.
Total Islamic insurance assets increased 20 percent to 13.9 billion ringgit at the end of July from a year earlier, it said.
“The government has implemented several initiatives to promote Islamic finance” including developing “innovative Islamic financial products,” according to the finance ministry. “The attractiveness of Islamic financial products stems from the fact that the instruments or certificates represent ownership of the underlying assets, benefits, services or investments.” |
IP Logged
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Last Edited On: 2010-10-17 20:16:53 By georgeb. for the Reason |
