Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican
Group Chief Executive Officer, Islamic Banking, Maybank
H.E. Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar
Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC)
Moderator:
James King, Africa and Middle East Editor, The Banker
Overview:
Appetite for Islamic finance is growing, outpacing its conventional counterparts in its home markets.
This is a sector full of potential, projected to grow to US$3.8 trillion by 2023, as new Shari’ah compliant products and structures emerge, and penetration across developing and developed economies increases.
The sector, however, faces a number of challenges to meet the growing demand, and effectively compete against traditional banks.
Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican of Maybank Islamic forecast that the next phase of growth for this huge banking market will come from the ever increasing global Muslim population, expected to reached 3 billion by 2060, about one quarter of
the world’s population.
Opportunities for expansion will come in tandem with the rise of the halal economy in key sectors including travel and tourism, modest fashion, media and telecoms, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Possibilities for further proliferation into new markets in Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond, as remarked by the DIEDC’s H.E. Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, will come through more collaboration between the mature markets of Malaysia and the GCC.
If the sector is to develop globally and effectively compete with conventional banking, there needs to be greater harmonisation between centres which can be driven by the banks themselves, by Governments and by cooperation between
Higher Shari’ah Authorities.
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