SINGAPORE - SPEECHES - WIBC Singapore 2012

The Next Phase in Islamic Finance  

Ravi Menon

Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Opening Address at the 3rd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit

Grant Hyatt Singapore

5 June 2012

Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, President, Islamic Development Bank,
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
And to all our foreign guests, a warm welcome to Singapore.

An Increasingly Difficult Conjuncture

We are meeting here for the 3rd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference Asia Summit, at a time of increasing stress in the global economy and financial system.  (source)

SINGAPORE - EVENTS - Islamic banks 'can fill funding gap': S’pore Monetary Authority

www.thejakartaglobe.com -Islamic banks are priming themselves to capture a larger share of the global trade and project financing market, as European banks pull back funds to mend balance sheets back home.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon noted on Tuesday that trade and infrastructure development is naturally compatible with Islamic finance, which has a focus on supporting real productive activities.
At the World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit in Singapore, he urged Islamic bankers to diversify into this space.  (source)

SINGAPORE -BANKING - Bureaucracy holds up Singapore

www.theislamicglobe.com - ingapore’s path to Shari’ah compliant home financing is being blocked by bureaucracy.
The Islamic Globe recently reported [see Issue 44] on the absence of Islamic home financing products despite the Monetary Authority of Singapore having legislated for a range of Shari’ah compliant Islamic banking structures.  (source)

EVENTS - WIBC - Islamic finance dev't linked to broader economic agenda

BRUNEI'S Islamic finance strategy is linked to a broader economic agenda of "participating in enhanced intra-OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference) trade flows", said the Managing Director of Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) at a conference on Islamic banking in Singapore yesterday.

Giving a speech at the 2nd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (Asia Summit) held at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Hj Mohd Rosli Hj Sabtu said, one major area being actively pursued by the Sultanate is in the manufacturing of halal products, "including food and pharmaceutical". (source)

SPEECH - SINGAPORE - Opening Address by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry and Deputy Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore at the 2nd World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit 2011

 Opening Address by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry and Deputy Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore at the 2nd World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit 2011 -8 June 2011 at Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore

“Towards a New Era of Growing Connectivity between Asia and the Middle East”

Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

1   I am honoured to be invited to deliver the opening address at the 2nd World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia).  I would like to extend a warm welcome to our overseas guests, especially our distinguished speakers who will be sharing their insights during this conference. (Source - or read hereunder)

SINGAPORE - New tax rules for Islamic finance

The Government will issue new income tax rules for Islamic finance products, said deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Mr Lim Hng Kiang.

The new regulations, to be issued by the Ministry of Finance, will cover financing agreements based on financing through partnership agreement, project financing and the interbank placement of funds, Mr Lim said.

This is so that syariah-compliant products are not at a disadvantage compared with conventional products in terms of tax treatment, in order to encourage more such products in Singapore.(source)

SINGAPORE - Islamic finance has strong growth potential in S'pore

SINGAPORE : With a supportive regulatory and tax framework, it is only a matter of time before Singapore becomes a major player in Islamic finance, according to experts.

Industry watchers said Singapore also stands to gain from its proximity to large Muslim populations in its neighbourhood.

They said sukuk, or Islamic bonds, and Syariah-compliant real estate investment trusts are two products that have strong growth potential in Singapore. (full story)

SINGAPORE - Singapore eyes big role in Islamic finance

Is the so-called impressive growth of Islamic finance in Asia more to do with hype than reality? Leaving aside the core markets of Malaysia and perhaps Brunei, where most of the recent developments in Islamic banking have been confined, nothing much is happening in the rest of Asia. At best it is work in progress with governments and regulators either consulting or reviewing existing legislation to see how best tax neutrality and other measures can be introduced for the facilitation of Islamic financial products.

SINGAPORE - EVENTS - SPEECH - MAS Singapore calls for Islamic improvements

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has called for stricter standards of risk management and corporate governance at Sharia-compliant financial institutions.

Ng Nam Sin, assistant managing director at the authority, told the 17th annual World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain on Wednesday that banks need to ensure that their businesses can be "sustainable in the long-term".

SINGAPORE - EVENTS - SPEECH - The new financial landscape - catalysing the growth of Islamic finance in the Asian markets

Opening Keynote Address by Mr Ng Nam Sin, Assistant Managing Director (Development), Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the 17th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference, Bahrain, 24 November 2010, 9.15am, Bahrain time (2.15pm Singapore time)

THE NEW FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE: CATALYSING THE GROWTH OF ISLAMIC FINANCE IN THE ASIAN MARKETS