Malaysia leads the international sukuk market

Malaysia remains a global leader in the international sukuk market, accounting for over RM266 billion (US$82.4 billlion), or 68.8 per cent, of total international sukuk issuances in 2013.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Islamic bank assets also showed a tremendous growth of up to 16.5 per cent with a market share of 25.7 per cent from the total banking system assets last year.

"Total transactions involving foreign exchange managed by international Islamic banks have also increased to RM18.1 billion in 2013 compared with RM14.6 billion in 2012.

"These figures gave an important indication that the syariah-compliant Islamic financial transactions have now gained a place among the public not only in this country but also at the international level," he said in his speech at the launch of Malaysian Unit Trust Week 2014 at the Rural Transformation Centre here Sunday.

Over 5,000 people were present at the event.

Najib said in the latest development, the World Bank has voiced its intention to open up a branch in this country with the main objective of getting experience and learning about the Islamic financial system.

"This is a recognition that Malaysia is now a model and a leader in its agenda to strengthen the syariah-based financial system," he said.

Najib also said that Malaysia was not only known as the pioneering country for the Islamic finance and banking, but also as the only country in the world which built up its Islamic finance holistically and comprehensively.

"In other words, our Islamic financial system does not only offer a variety of Islamic finance products which are syariah-compliant, but Malaysia also develops various financial infrastructures including takaful and re-takaful, Islamic capital, sukuk and Islamic finance markets," he said.

He said the seriousness of the government in empowering the syariah-based financial system could also be seen from various governance and legal initiatives which placed the syariah law at the highest level in the Islamic Finance Services Act 2013.

"For the record, Malaysia is one of the earliest countries to develop the Islamic finance institutions while other Islamic countries were still not confident to form syariah-compliant financial institution," he said.