M'SIA LOOK AT WAYS TO PROMOTE CROSS-BORDER WITH GULF COUNTRIES From Nor Baizura Basri

ABU DHABI, April 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is examining ways to promote more
cross-border investments among Gulf states, a move that will boost Islamic
finance growth.

Crown Prince of the Malaysian northern state of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah,
said Malaysia was looking at possibilities of talking to regulatory, supervisory
and enforcement agencies in the Gulf region to allow investment activities with
minimal intervention and in a harmonised manner.

"Gulf countries offer a lot of potential. We feel there's a lot of
scope of expansion in terms of trade and investment between these two regions
but of course we may look further," he told Bernama in an interview.

Raja Dr Nazrin is currently leading a delegation to the United Arab Emirates

and Saudi Arabia roadshow organised by the Malaysia International Islamic
Financial Centre (MIFC).

The Perak Crown Prince said the growth potential for Islamic finance was
still tremendous especially with its contribution to global finance relatively
small at about four per cent.

"I think part of our mission is basically to make people aware of the
attractiveness and soundness of the Islamic finance. I think as more and more
people get to know and understand the fundamentals under which the Islamic
finance operates, they will find it very attractive," he said.

Raja Dr Nazrin, who is also MIFC Financial Ambassador, said as a result of
the financial crisis, there are greater appreciation of Islamic finance as an
alternative to conventional finance not only from Muslim countries but also
countries like Australia and South Korea.

"So increasingly, with more and more people are aware of the guiding
principle, I am quite confident you would see the single digit (growth) will
grow very quickly over time," he said.

The MIFC delegation, which ended the first leg of its roadshow in Abu Dhabi
on Wednesday, had fruitful meetings with several investment agencies and trade
associations.

Apart from Islamic finance, other potential areas that can be explored are
oil and gas, food security, construction and real estate projects.

Raja Dr Nazrin said Malaysia was also an attractive investment destination
and could become a gateway for Gulf countries to penetrate other Asean countries
especially in the 27 sub-sectors that have been liberalised.

On a question whether Malaysia was ready to lead Islamic financial reforms,
he said Malaysia was among few countries that had both conventional and Islamic
banking systems working in parallel.

"We are constantly coming out with new Islamic products and instruments to
keep up with the market and are very serious in developing a pool of talents of
people who are well-versed in the technicality of Islamic finance," he said.

On gold dinar, Raja Dr Nazrin said it was an idea that needed to be further
discussed.

"The discussion must be held in a wider context about the United States
being the reserve in the world and many people are questioning with the state of
the US economy today, can the US dollar continue to become the reserve of the
world?" he said.

He said countries like China, which had huge reserves of the greenback, are
worried about the stability and strength of the US dollar.

"Countries are beginning to look at diversification, away from US dollar as
a reserve currency and so the discussion on gold dinar must be discussed within
the context of this bigger picture," he added.

Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been a firm believer and
promoter of the gold dinar for the past few years as an alternative to replace
the US dollar as the trading currency and world reserves.
-- BERNAMA


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