MALAYSIA - PROMOTIONS - Ranjit is new SC chairman, Nik Ramlah his deputy

www.thesundaily.com - KUALA LUMPUR (March 9, 2012): Securities Commission managing director Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh has been appointed the SC chairman effective April 1, succeeding Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, who will retire upon completion of her term on March 31 after holding the post since 2006.

Another SC managing director Datuk Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood has also been appointed its deputy chief executive with effect from April 1. (source)

WORLD - OPINION - Islamic venture capital: Key to knowledge-based economy

FAILURE is a mark of success in venture capital.
Today, Islamic venture capital is a feel good theory presented at conferences about the lofty goals of this niche market with the focus on the formalism of structuring and screening. Its impact investing, yet we see it as a cost (at best) and a write-off (at worst). (source)

MALAYSIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - SC revises Guidelines for corporate bonds, trust deeds and sukuk

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today issued the revised Private Debt Securities (PDS) Guidelines, Sukuk Guidelines and Trust Deed Guidelines to enhance the regulatory framework for fundraising and product regulation in the Private Debt Securities and Sukuk markets.

The revised Sukuk Guidelines streamline the approval process and time-to-market for the issuance of corporate bonds and sukuk. The revisions also facilitate a more informed investment decision-making process with additional provisions to ensure greater disclosure of relevant information to investors.

The revised Sukuk Guidelines provide greater clarity on the application of Shariah rulings and principles endorsed by the SC�s Shariah Advisory Council in relation to Sukuk transactions while the Trust Deed Guidelines improves disclosure standards and protection for corporate bond and sukuk holders.

Malaysia is currently the largest sukuk market in the world, accounting for about 65% of the global issues, while the bond market is the 3rd largest as a percentage to GDP in Asia (ex-Japan). The revised Guidelines will help Malaysia maintain its leading position by continuously attracting both local and international issuers and investors into the corporate bond and sukuk markets.
 

The revised Private Debt Securities Guidelines, Sukuk Guidelines and Trust Deed Guidelines will supersede the Guidelines on the Offering of Private Debt Securities, Guidelines on the Offering of Islamic Securities, Guidelines on the Minimum Contents Requirements for Trust Deeds and all the related Practice Notes respectively. (source -Download Sukuk Guidelines - Trust Deeds - Private Debt Securities)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - Uncertainty, disparity in Islamic finance pose challenges

The uncertainty and disparity in some areas of Islamic finance can at times be an added cost for industry players or turn them away from it, said a senior Securities Commission (SC) director.

Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, the SC executive director, said the legal, regulatory and tax frameworks for Islamic finance sometimes differ from one market jurisdiction to another, and this poses a challenge when one goes into cross border situations. (source)

WORLD - The Islamic finance industry grows at 14% annually to RM3.1 trillion

KUALA LUMPUR: Islamic finance has achieved a substantial growth in the past two decades, annualising a growth rate of about 14% over the past 15 years.

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) Islamic capital market executive director Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin said the Islamic finance industry that was currently estimated to be worth about US$1 trillion (RM3.058 trillion) had made further headway in the Islamic traditional markets such as Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, while penetrating new markets such as in Europe and Africa. (source)

MALAYSIA - LEGAL - Uncertainty, disparity in Islamic finance pose challenges

KUALA LUMPUR: The uncertainty and disparity in some areas of Islamic finance can at times be an added cost for industry players or turn them away from it, said a senior Securities Commission (SC) director.

 

Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, the SC executive director, said the legal, regulatory and tax frameworks for Islamic finance sometimes differ from one market jurisdiction to another, and this poses a challenge when one goes into cross border situations.

"As a result, going through the Islamic finance route may, at times, be less clear or economical than the conventional route.

"Until these issues are satisfactorily addressed, there will be some degrees of apprehension among industry players and practitioners to fully embrace Islamic finance," he said. (source)

MALAYSIA - Malaysia's Zarinah Anwar calls for greater GCC-Asian connectivity

LONDON: Zarinah Anwar, chairman of the Securities Commission of Malaysia, the securities and capital market regulator, has called on Middle Eastern and Asian countries to spearhead the further expansion of Islamic finance, which in the process would also deepen business and investment linkages between the two regions where the phenomenon is already being practiced on a significant scale. (source)

MALAYSIA - Foreign Shariah advisories make their mark in Malaysian Islamic capital market

The latest list of Shariah advisers serving the local Islamic capital market (ICM) and registered by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) confirms that five such individual foreign advisers are registered with the commission.

The commission is the only securities regulator in the world that requires such registration. (source)

MALAYSIA - Potential in Islamic REIT

DH Flinders Ltd, a specialist Asia-Pacific corporate advisory practice that focuses on real estate, financial services and small capital sectors, sees good investment opportunities in Islamic real estate investment trust (REIT) in Malaysia.

Executive director Stephen Hawkins says Malaysia already has a good start in terms of Islamic REIT awareness, having established the guidelines for this type of investment. (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)

EDUCATION - Islamic banking suffers from shortage of skilled professionals

Singapore - Islamic finance consistent with sharia law was poised to continue its growth, but the industry had to overcome a large dearth of skilled professionals and other challenges to succeed, banking experts warned Wednesday. 

'The fast growth of Islamic financial institutions so far isn't followed by sufficient supply of human resources,' Halim Alamsyah, deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, said in Singapore. (source)

SINGAPORE - Islamic finance to play a pivotal role in trade and investment flows (WIBC)

HE Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry Republic of Singapore & Deputy Chairman Monetary Authority of Singapore delivering the keynote address at WIBC Asia 2011

HE Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry Republic of Singapore & Deputy Chairman Monetary Authority of Singapore

The 2nd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia 2011) opened today at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore. Though Islamic banking assets have grown significantly over the past few years, they still only represent less than one per cent of total global banking assets – with more than 50 per cent concentration in the Middle East region.

The two-day WIBC Asia event, held under the official support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, kicked off today with an inaugural address by HE Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry Republic of Singapore & Deputy Chairman Monetary Authority of Singapore. This was followed by an opening keynote session which featured HE Mohd Rosli Sabtu, Managing Director of Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD); HE Halim Alamsyah, Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia; and Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Chairman of Securities Commission Malaysia. (source)

MALAYSIA - SC SEC COM - List licensed intermediaries (what about Indonesia ?)

The SC Securities Commission of Malaysia published the list of "licensed intermediaries", amongst others the "List of Capital Markets Services Licence holders for Islamic Fund Management at as 31 October 2010".

MALAYSIA - SEC COM SC - List of Shariah compliant securities (what about Indonesia ?)

At the end of the month of May and November, the SC Securities Commission of Malaysia publishes the list of "Shariah Compliant Securities".

The list of November 2010 can be downloaded here.

CAPITAL MARKETS - REPORTS - IFIR 2010 - Islamic fund assets remained flat in 2009

see also : http://islamicfinanceindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/09/islamic-funds-ifir-2010-from-ernst.html


“The Islamic fund industry needs to evaluate new strategies to restimulate growth. Islamic fund assets remained flat in 2009 at $52 billion, whereas the potential wealth pool grew by 20 percent, now estimated at $480 billion,” concludes the Islamic Funds & Investments Report (IFIR) 2010 which was published by international auditing and advisory firm Ernst & Young in September 2010.