Future of Islamic finance positive: Nazir

Published: 2009/05/30

THE future of Islamic finance is positive, says group chief executive of CIMB Group Datuk Seri Nazir Razak. However, there is still room for further improvement especially in terms of rules and regulations in the global front, he said.

Malaysia, meanwhile, has been successful in the sector and has clear rules and regulations on the matter, he said. "When you deposit money with CIMB Islamic, there are very clear rules and regulations about how CIMB Islamic must use that money," he said at a dialogue session in conjunction with the grand finale of the Malaysia Future Leadership Programme 2008/2009 Business Challenge in Kuala Lumpur today.

At the global level, however, when somebody deposits their money in a bank which says its product is syariah-compliant, there is really nobody governing what the bank does with the money, he said. Nobody will know where or on what the money is being invested, Nazir said.

"That is why we are pushing for stronger overall consistent governing framework for global Islamic finance," he added. The Malaysia Future Leadership Programme 2008/2009 Business Challenge was jointly organised by CIMB Group and The Wall Street Journal Asia. Nine higher-learning institutions participated in the challenge. -- Bernama