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)

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)

SPEECH - Speech by YBhg Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia at the Launch of Capital Market Masterplan 2 - April 12, 2011

Speech by

YBhg Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar
Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia

at the

Launch of Capital Market Masterplan 2
12 April 2011
Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The launch of CMP2 is a significant milestone in the development of the capital market of Malaysia. It marks the successful implementation of the first Capital Market Masterplan where 95% of the 152 recommendations were completed. CMP1 has been a remarkably prescient document that continues to retain relevance even after a decade and has been used by many countries as a model plan for the development of their own capital markets. (full story)