THE FUTURE OF ISLAMIC FINANCE IS POSITIVE

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- The future of Islamic finance is
positive, says group chief executive of CIMB Group Nazir Razak.

However, there is still room for further improvement especially in
terms of rules and regulations in the global front, he said.

Malaysia meanwhile has been successful in the sector and have clear rules
and regulations on the matter, he said.

"When you deposit money with CIMB Islamic, there are very clear rules and
regulations about how CIMB Islamic must use that money," he said at a dialogue
session in conjunction with the grand finale of the Malaysia Future Leadership
Programme 2008/2009 Business Challenge here Saturday.

At the global level however, when somebody deposits their money in a bank
which says its product is syariah-compliant, there is really nobody governing
what the bank does with the money, he said.

Nobody will know where or on what the money is being invested, Nazir said.

"That is why we are pushing for stronger overall consistent governing
framework for global Islamic finance," he added.

The Malaysia Future Leadership Programme 2008/2009 Business Challenge was
jointly organised by CIMB Group and The Wall Street Journal Asia.

Nine higher-learning institutions participated in the challenge. -- BERNAMA