Malaysia maintains its top position as the leading Islamic Economy for 2019 as rated by Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI).

Datuk Adissadikin Ali, Managing Director of RHB Islamic Bank shared that the GIEI attributed Malaysia’s success to an extensive ecosystem that spans its strong Islamic finance industry, halal free zones  (halal hubs), well-developed halal products manufacturers and a robust investor ecosystem that includes private equity, venture capital and sovereign wealth funds.

He was speaking at the official opening ceremony of  Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum 2019 this morning. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad officiated the Forum later.

Based on the State of the Global Islamic Economic Report 2018/19, the estimated spend by 1.8 billion Muslims globally (24% of world population) was US$2.1 trillion over 2017 of which 62% or US$1.3 trillion was on food and beverage alone. This total expenditure is set to surge to US$3 trillion by 2023.  

“Amidst the economic headwinds over recent times, Islamic finance globally grew strongly at 11% to US$2.4 trillion in 20017 and is projected to read US$3.8 trillion by 2023 with a growth rate of 10% annually.

“Closer to home, over 2018 the Malaysian Islamic banking sector registered a growth of 11.6% compared to the conventional industry growth of only 3.0%,” he added.

In terms of Total Islamic Finance Assets, Malaysia at US$491 billion comes a close second compared to Saudi Arabia at US$509 billion. Together, both countries contribute 65% of the global share. Even with the tumultuous world markets, as at the end of 2018, Malaysia maintains its dominant lead as the largest Sukuk market with over 50% of the total global outstanding Sukuk papers.

“As the size of the Global Islamic Ecosystem dictates the importance of our Islamic finance industry. As a cornerstone of the whole halal economic value chain, we need to ensure that our high growth momentum continues to persist for the betterment and support of the wider global Islamic economy,” Adissadikin concluded

Twitter