OPPORTUNITIES FOR ISLAMIC FINANCE TO LEAD FINANCIAL FRATERNITY, SAYS M'SIAN PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- There are tremendous opportunities for Islamic finance to lead the financial fraternity into a new growth era, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday.

"As many of you are already aware, Islamic finance is a system that is
based on the principle of profit-sharing, where both parties in the contract are
subjected to the potential losses and returns," he said at the official launch
of Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd, the bank's first Islamic financial centre,
here.

Abdullah said the recent global financial meltdown illustrated the
desperate need for such a system and many observers were increasingly
considering the Islamic financial system with renewed respect and
admiration.

Therefore, he said, Islamic finance must be prepared to take on a new
dimension to meet the changing demands of business in an increasingly globalised
environment.

"In this regard, Islamic finance needs to quickly integrate itself with the
international financial system and prove itself as a viable alternative to the
conventional financial system practised in most parts of the world," Abdullah
said.

He said by transforming into an essential element of global finance,
Islamic
finance would surely ended its perceived position as a niche or boutique
financial service.

However, Abdullah said for Islamic finance to be an effective complement to
global finance, a sound legal framework was important to provide the Islamic
finance sector with the credibility it required.

"As it stands, Malaysia is well poised to lead any attempt to reform the
global financial system by infusing concepts and themes borrowed from Islamic
finance," he said.

In this respect, the Prime Minister said Malaysia was ready to act as a
knowledge centre for Islamic finance.

"Already, we have founded the International Centre For Education in Islamic
Finance as a global university for Islamic finance," he said.