Malaysia Has Comprehensive Islamic Finance Infrastructure, Says Award Winner

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's Islamic finance infrastructure is comprehensive, providing a very good legal and prudential system to industry players worldwide, said the recipient of the Royal Award for Islamic Finance 2016. Prof Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim said this would make Malaysia a role model to other countries and attract more people here to seek its expertise in the field. "In terms of prudential, for example, the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 provides a lot of clarity," he told reporters during a press conference earlier Monday. Introduced by Bank Negara (Central Bank), the act is aimed at placing Malaysia's financial sector, encompassing the banking system, the insurance/takaful sector, the financial market and payment systems and other financial intermediaries, on a platform to enable it to advance as a sound financial system. On challenges in the Islamic industry, he said although Malaysia's contribution to global Islamic finance is small, the amount is seeing strong double-digit growth. "This will attract more people to come to the country as they realise that there is growth potential here," he added. Rifaat Ahmed was Monday conferred the Royal Award by the Malaysian King Tuanku Al-Haj Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah. His significant contributions to the development of the Islamic financial services industry include his instrumental roles in the establishment of two international standards setting bodies -- the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, and the Islamic Financial Services Board. In 2012, he assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer of International Islamic Liquidity Management, an international institution established by central banks, monetary authorities and multilateral organisations. The institution's primary objective is to issue short-term Shariah-compliant tradable financial instruments denominated in major reserve currencies to facilitate cross-border liquidity management among Islamic banks. The recipients of the Royal Award serve as role models to inspire others to contribute to the advancement of the industry. The three previous recipients were Dr Abdul Halim Ismail, founding member of Malaysia's first Islamic bank (2014); Iqbal Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital (2012); and Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, founder of the Dallah al Baraka Group, one of the Middle East’s largest conglomerates (2010). -- BERNAMA