SINGAPORE : About 60 per cent of the world's Muslims live in emerging Asia, and this presents ripe opportunities in Islamic finance.
But analysts said that a lack of trained professionals prevents Singapore from becoming a regional Islamic finance hub.
That is why industry players such as HSBC are now taking the knowledge of finance to religious teachers.
There is much potential for Shariah-compliant insurance products - also known as takaful - in Singapore.
Insurers forecast takaful sales to rise 20 to 30 per cent annually.
To capture this growth, HSBC Insurance said it will start training members of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers' Association (PERGAS) in how takaful works.
"Takaful is not a well understood concept often even in Muslim communities. It's through the advice of people like PERGAS who are able to bring this financial knowledge to the communities," said Walter de Oude, CEO of HSBC Insurance Singapore.
PERGAS and HSBC's takaful training programme will begin this month, taking in 20 to 30 applicants for its first batch.
"Our pro-active steps in ensuring the Asatizahs or the religious teachers are taking a big step into this particular aspect of the Islamic finance industry. We understand there is a lack of professionals applying this area or field especially from the religious point of view," said Hajah Mohaideen, Assistant Executive Director of PERGAS.
The global Islamic insurance industry is projected to reach US$7.7 billion by 2012.
Singapore's Islamic insurance industry alone is worth S$130 million.
"The Islamic community is growing, both in number and in affluence. And people need to have financial solutions that they can depend on, so definitely, there is room for growth. We would expect that Islamic finance will grow very strongly and even outpace other kinds of financial products," said de Oude.
More training programmes in Islamic finance will be available shortly in Singapore. For example, the Singapore Management University's Masters in Islamic finance will be launched in 2012.
Source : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1096469/1/.html - Nov 30, 2010
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