ISLAMIC FINANCE OPENS UP EXCITING PROSPECTS FOR FURTHER LINKAGES BETWEEN

From Nor Baizura Basri

ABU DHABI, April 27 (Bernama) -- Islamic finance opens up exciting prospects
for further linkages between Muslim countries, especially in terms of trade with
the intra-trade level between countries still relatively low.

In addressing this, Crown Prince of Malaysia's northern state of Perak Raja
Dr Nazrin Shah said against this backdrop, Islamic finance is uniquely
positioned to expand its role and presence.

"Enormous opportunities remain for Muslim nations to increase trade with
each other given that intra-OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) trade
currently accounts for only between 10 to 13 per cent of the OIC's global
trade," he said during a luncheon address here in conjunction with the Malaysia
International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) roadshow.

The luncheon was co-hosted by MIFC and Standard Chartered Saadiq in
conjunction with the MIFC roadshow to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Raja Nazrin, who is the MIFC Financial Ambassador, said the industry also
offered better prospects for developed economies to forge stronger financial
linkages with Asian countries, including Malaysia.

"In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, there has been a
heightened interest in Islamic finance as an alternative to conventional
finance," he said.

Raja Nazrin said the regulatory and legal frameworks for Islamic finance are
already well established and the platforms for extending regional linkages and
cross-border initiatives are also in place.

Citing Malaysia, he said the country has played an instrumental role at the
international level in the design and implementation of a well-defined global
financial architecture for Islamic finance.

Raja Nazrin said specific measures have also been implemented to enhance the
competitiveness and efficiency of the Islamic financial services sector in
Malaysia, including the implementation of tax neutrality measures, prompting
other countries to follow suit.

With Malaysia's strategic location, it could give advantage as a gateway to
markets in East Asia, which represents a combined population of 1.6 billion, he
said.

"The diversity of our people provides Malaysia with the unique ability to
tap into various markets in the region," said Raja Nazrin.

To this extent, he said that substantial scope existed for increased
bilateral trade between Malaysia and the UAE.

Raja Nazrin said as the hub for Islamic finance in the Far East,
corporations in the UAE are invited to invest in Malaysia while Malaysian
companies are encouraged to invest in the UAE.

"Malaysia will benefit from greater diversification of products and services
offered at competitive prices, while UAE investors can tap into the valuable
economic opportunities in Malaysia and East Asia," he said.

More than 150 companies from various sectors in the UAE attended the
business networking lunch, which created linkages between the industry players
from both countries.

The MIFC delegation, comprising over 50 members, involved key regulators,
fund managers and industry players.
-- BERNAMA