Malaysia, lead global player in Shariah lending, is extending a helping hand to the Philippines whose only Islamic banking institution in existence has failed to live up to its mandate. According to the Halal Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines (HICCIP), the Al Amanah Islamic Investment Bank in Manila has failed to meet its mandate of meeting the financial services requirements of up to 15 million Filipinos who are Muslims and may not avail themselves of services delivered by the country’s regular commercial lenders.
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Islamic mutual funds are emerging from a shakeout that has seen 105 of them close since 2011, and the departures of small and struggling managers will benefit the funds that remain, according to a study released on Tuesday. The last few years have been difficult for Islamic funds, with firms pulling out as they were hurt by the global financial crisis and as slumping equity markets reduced investor interest. Expansion of the takaful (Islamic insurance) industry is slowing as firms struggle for scale and face growing competition, but the sector is still poised to sustain double-digit growth, according to a report by Ernst & Young. Takaful, an industry which attracted $10.9 billion in gross contributions worldwide last year, has its core markets in the Gulf and southeast Asia and serves as a bellwether of consumer appetite for Islamic finance products. Singapore and Malaysia should look for more cross-border opportunities to collaborate on Islamic financing. This is according to speakers at the inaugural Islamic Finance Services Conference on Tuesday. Experts said Singapore should also widen its breadth of Islamic finance products to cover the areas of retail, real estate and equities, in order to spur growth in this area. The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp has overcome regulatory and technical obstacles in issuing its first sukuk, but it faces a fresh challenge in ensuring that the paper becomes widely traded across borders. The $490 million, three-month Islamic bond was auctioned to seven primary dealers from Asia, the Middle East abd Europe, the IILM said on Monday - a step towards creating an international market in Islamic financial instruments. The takaful industry in Malaysia is looking forward to added incentives in 2014 budget to be tabled by the prime minister on October 25. Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd (Takaful Ikhalas) president and chief executive officer Ab Latiff Abu Bakar said the Malaysia Takaful Association (MTA) had discussed several issues with the relevant authorities on their expectation for next year’s budget. The Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) has reshuffled its sharia board, losing four of its original six members including senior Saudi and Qatari scholars, according to the body's website. The IILM, backed by the central banks of nine countries as well as the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, was founded in October 2010 to help develop cross-border markets in Islamic financial instruments. Takaful operators like Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd and Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, a unit ofMNRB Holdings Bhd, are aggressively strategising their operations to ensure profitable growth and taking advantage of the five-year time frame given to composite takaful players to fully comply with the new Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA). Under the Financial Services Act (FSA) and IFSA, which came into force on July 1, composite insurers and takaful players would be, among others, required to split their life and general insurance businesses under separate licences. A report issued by KFH-Research states that the global sukuk market has shown resilience this year given the volatility in global bond markets as market players react to positive economic growth prospects as well as concerns over monetary policy in the US, the world’s largest bond market. The report mentions that despite rising yields across the board, sukuk issuances have kept up momentum with over US$26.6 billion placed during the second quarter, which adds to the US$34.5 billion placed during the 1Q13 to bring the first half total to US$61.2 billion. Malaysia: Financial services act 2013 and Islamic financial services act 2013 come into force7/3/2013 The regulatory and supervisory framework of Malaysia enters a new stage of its development as the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA) and Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA) come into force on 30 June 2013. The FSA and IFSA is the culmination of efforts to modernise the laws that govern the conduct and supervision of financial institutions in Malaysia to ensure that these laws continue to be relevant and effective to maintain financial stability, support inclusive growth in the financial system and the economy, as well as to provide adequate protection for consumers. |