Malaysia: Islamic banking on uptrend and continues to grow despite challenges

PETALING JAYA: Challenges or not, Islamic banking is set to continue its growth momentum this year. Underpinning this is the planned conversion of development financial institutions (DFIs) into full-fledged Islamic banks, a growing demand for Islamic finance, a strong sukuk market and anticipated mergers among Islamic banks.

Industry observers and players reckoned that these factors would spur the growth of the industry and hot up competition among the players, both existing and new.

Statistics concur with this. According to the Ministry of Finance (MOF)2012/2013 Economic Report, Islamic banking continued to expand in the first seven months of 2012, with total assets increasing 20.6% to RM469.5bil, representing 24.2% of the country's banking system assets.

As at end-September 2012, Malaysia still dominated the global market with 74% of global sukuk issuance, a Bank Negara report indicated.

Ernst & Young Malaysia director for Islamic Banking Group (Global Financial Services) Muhammad Syarizal Rahim told StarBiz there were several factors that would spur this growth momentum despite the challenges present.

According to him, the game changer in the country's bid to double its share of Islamic banking assets by 2020 and the contributing sustained growth trend in 2013 would be the conversion of DFIs into full-fledged Islamic banking institutions by 2015.

This would, among others, involve the conversion of existing DFI loan and deposit products into Islamic products.

“It is projected that the demand for sukuk instruments will continue to grow, outpacing global supply and providing opportunities for Islamic banks to establish and grow their Islamic fixed income advisory platforms.

“The anticipated consolidation among Islamic banks will also continue, including the creation of a mega Islamic bank. This trend will ensure the continued strengthening of Islamic banks and will be crucial for their planned expansion to be regional players,'' Syarizal noted.

With a total Muslim population of about 60% of the total population, he said there were significant opportunities for the Islamic banking players in the country to increase their market penetration.

He added, however, that there were a number of key challenges for the Islamic banking players in achieving their growth prospects. Although the overall profitability has improved, he felt the operating expenses were still higher for Islamic banks.

The largest operational cost tended to be for human capital, he said, noting that there was also a need to increase technology enablement so services could be delivered more effectively and efficiently. Apart from this, Syarizal said Islamic banks would need to better manage their asset quality, with risk and governance often a complex and sensitive factor in deciding revaluations or disposals.

As for competition, Maybank Islamic Bhd CEO Muzaffar Hisham said the bank welcomed it, as it was confident of its services, corporate philosophy and ability to maintain market leadership. Towards this end, he added that the bank was also committed to improving efficiency and customer satisfaction amidst increasing competition in the market.

“We have successfully expanded our domestic market share in both deposits and financing, 22.9% and 25.9%, respectively, for 2012. Our profit before tax has also recorded a 43.8% year-on-year growth in the first nine months of last year. We are cementing and establishing our domestic leadership in Islamic banking and aggressively pursuing a regional push,'' he noted.

To differentiate itself in the area of Islamic banking, Muzaffar said the bank would continue to strive in providing innovative syariah-compliant solutions for the benefit of its customers. Last year, Maybank Islamic had extended its Premier Mudharabah Account-i to small and medium enterprises, business banking and corporate segments.

He said the bank had also launched the new variable rate of mortgage financing under the concept of Commodity Murabahah. Besides this, it had enhanced the bank's Ikhwan credit card offerings via the Ikhwan Visa Infinite launch.

It had also introduced the M2U Savers-i, an online savings account for the convenience of opening, accessing and closing accounts from anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd director and CEO Syed Abdull Aziz Syed Kechik concurred with Muzaffar, saying that competition in Islamic banking would continue to intensify and was a good thing.

The industry's attractive growth rate across various markets would attract more players, with the healthy competition driving further improvements in the industry.

In terms of differentiation and strategies employed in Islamic banking, he said: “Each player has its own unique value proposition and market strategy. For home-grown firms, the entrenched and well-established position coupled with various home market advantages provides the solid base to grow further.

“For offshore-owned entities, meanwhile, the capability to tap into their international/regional group resources and network provides some degree of advantage in growing the Islamic finance business base across borders.”

(The Star Online / 21 Jan 2013)

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Malaysia: MRT project in for another round of sukuk financing

KUALA LUMPUR: The country's biggest infrastructure project the Sungai Buloh-Kajang My Rapid Transit (MRT) is in for another big round of financing.

Finance Ministry unit Prokhas Sdn Bhd, the financial adviser of DanaInfra Nasional Bhd established in 2010 to facilitate the funding of large infrastructure projects by the Government, revealed that the next sukuk issuance to finance the mammoth development is expected as early as March and slated to be significantly larger that the current RM1.5bil sukuk series being issued this month.

The RM23bil MRT first-line development, incidentally, is Danainfra's maiden project.

According to Prokhas chief operating officer Datuk Kamal Mohd Ali, this upcoming issuance (or series three), would likely include a retail sukuk portion of up to 20% of the total issuance.

It is understood that this issuance should be bigger, as it was slated to finance the tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) that would arrive from Germany and China. The first of the 10 TBMs is expected to arrive next month, with tunnelling works starting by May.

It has been reported that MRT Corp has ordered eight TBMs from German-based manufacturer Herren Herrenkncht AG, with another two from China Railway Tunnelling Equipment Co Ltd, bringing the whole order to RM500mil.

The first series of the commercial papers/medium-term notes programme issued in July 2012 for RM2.4bil was purely for institutional over-the-counter (OTC) trading, with tranches issued for seven, 10, 12 and 15 years.

The second series is being issued this month for RM1.5bil with RM1.2bil institutional OTC inclusive of the first retail sukuk offering of RM300mil for 10-year papers.

“Ideally, we would have sukuk issuances on a quarterly basis but the amount would depend on the needs of the MRT project over that specific period,” he told reporters over a lunch meeting yesterday.

MRT Corp has been awarding tenders for the MRT project since the fourth quarter of 2011. To date, it has awarded almost RM20bil worth of advance, civil and systems works.

There are about 20 more tender packages to be awarded, and in total, the balance of the award should not exceed RM3bil, bringing the construction cost of the first MRT line to about RM23bil.

On the retail sukuk portion being the first in the world and a new asset class for the public to invest, Kamal was hopeful it would be oversubscribed by at least one or two times.

Danainfra's retail sukuk, guaranteed by the Government, was created as part of its efforts to broaden its investor base by allowing participation of retail investors to fund the MRT project.

The date of issuance and listing on Bursa Malaysia is targeted for Feb 8, with the opening offer date on Jan 8 and its closing date on Jan 18.

(The Star Online / 16 Jan 2013)


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Malaysia ranked world’s top Muslim-friendly holiday destination

A study has rated Malaysia as the world’s top Muslim-friendly holiday destination.

The survey released yesterday listed Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore as runners-up.

The study by Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy Crescentrating ranked countries on how well they catered to the growing number of Muslim holidaymakers seeking halal — or Islam-compliant — food and services.

It used criteria including the level of safety in a country, the ease of access to halal food and prayer facilities, and whether hotels catered to the needs of Muslim guests. On a scale of one to 10, in which 10 is the best score, Malaysia came out number one with a grade of 8.3 among 50 nations surveyed.

Egypt was in second place with 6.7, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, both with 6.6. Saudi Arabia was in fourth place with a score of 6.4 and Singapore was fifth with 6.3. Indonesia, Morocco and Jordan scored 6.1 to tie in sixth place, trailed by seventh-placed Brunei, Qatar, Tunisia and Oman, all with a score of 6.0.

Crescentrating chief executive Fazal Bahardeen said the survey was taken from the point of view of travellers, meaning that it measured the ease of access by Muslim tourists, not locals, to halal food and facilities.

"Malaysia is one of the few countries where you can find a prayer place in almost every location, be it a mall or the airport."

He said that while Malaysian authorities had been focusing on the market for several years, Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim nation -- had not done as well.

"The main problem for Indonesia is that it's not straightforward for a Muslim visitor to find halal food availability. For locals, it's probably not an issue."

Saudi Arabia figured as a holiday destination for the first time since the survey started in 2011 because more Muslims used their holidays to go there to perform the umrah, a minor pilgrimage, Fazal said.

In terms of cities as a shopping destination, Dubai pipped Kuala Lumpur for the No. 1 spot, according to the survey.

Istanbul, Jeddah, Singapore, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, London and Doha completed the top-10 shopping destinations.

Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport were rated among the friendliest to Muslim travellers.

Spending by Muslim tourists was growing faster than the global rate and is forecast to reach US$192 billion (RM580 billion) a year by 2020, up from US$126 billion in 2011, according to a study by Crescentrating and another company released last year.

(Global Travel Industry News / 16 Jan 2013)

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Value of Islamic financing

WHILE Malaysia has become an internationally renowned centre for Islamic finance, the general public appear to have a very limited (if not flawed) understanding of it.

Most non-Muslims (and some Muslims) appear to be under the impression that there are only some terminology differences between the two, the main one being interest rate being termed as profit rate in Islamic finance.

Such a shallow understanding overlooks the fact that Islamic finance emphasises justice in financial transactions. Justice is a highly-regarded value in Islam.

The prohibition of interest in Islamic finance (IF) is due to it being viewed as an unjust practice. This is because, among others, the party providing the capital (financing) is able to enjoy a fixed return irres­pective whether the venture financed fails or succeeds.

However, it must be highlighted that most financing done by Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) currently are not based on profit-sharing modes of financing but sales-based transactions. This is mainly because the risk involved in equity-based financing is deemed to be too high for the risk appetite of financial institutions.

A sale or trade-based transaction with the profit factor included may appear very similar to a conventional lending transaction. However, a trade involves an underlying asset and changing of ownership of the asset, and impacts the real economy.

The conventional finance system being motivated purely by profit, and also greed at times, allows finance to exist for its own sake and in isolation of real economic activity and can lead to situations like economic bubbles and related financial problems.

For the individual customer taking financing, while the cost (in terms of finance pricing) may be the same between IFIs and conventional banks, many features and practices of IFIs are fairer to the customer due to the underlying value of justice in Islamic finance.

For instance in IF, the penalty for late payment is about 1% compared with about 8% charged by conventional banks.

Further, because the penalty is only to deter customers from delaying payment and not to profit from the customer’s hardship, the penalty fees collected are used by the IFIs for charitable purposes.

There is also greater transparency when dealing with IFIs compared with conventional banks where, for instance, the selling price of a financial transaction states clearly how much the financing will cost to a customer during the tenure of the financing and enables the customer to make a more informed decision whether to take up the financing.

In a conventional transaction, customers are sometimes not fully aware of the terms and conditions.

I myself being formerly employed by a conventional bank have seen this happen.

Terms like minimum prescribed rate and penalty rate, clauses that were previously stated clearly in the Letter of Offer, were subsequently put under the attachment (which is in a smaller font than the Letter of Offer).

Often, this was done purely on advice of sales personnel so that they (the sales personnel) do not have to go through the difficult clauses with customers and therefore have a higher chance of closing the sale.

The customers are usually told that the terms and conditions in the attachment are standard clauses applied by all banks, and the customers are left to decipher the terms and conditions which are in fine print on their own.

Such practices are less likely to happen in IFIs because they are not purely motivated by profit but values of justice and transparency. Further, if you were to encounter any unfair terms, an IFI is more likely to consider removing the unjust term because the value of justice overrides the pursuit of profit.

In comparison, conventional banks are usually not willing to accommodate a legitimate request, until of course you report to Bank Negara or blow up the issue in the media.

There may be a fear among non- Muslims that practising Islamic banking means they become Muslims. Islamic banking is not about propagating the religion of Islam, but about providing an alternative form of banking which is based on the universal value of justice, and should thus be viewed positively.

Islamic banking can be likened to eating a halal burger, which may taste like a normal burger. However, if we know that it is more nutritional and better than a normal burger, aren’t we better off opting for the halal burger?

At the very least, our choice of opting for Islamic finance will result in conventional banks being forced to adopt fairer banking practices if they want to retain customers.

(The Star Online / 17 Jan 2013)

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Malaysia: Strong demand seen for Danainfra’s sukuk

PETALING JAYA: Danainfra Nasional Bhd's exchange traded sukuk, the latest asset class that has been just launched, is expected to attract strong demand from investors who want exposure to infrastructure-based bonds.

According to analysts, this is because it is the single asset class in its category that allowed retail investors to diversify their investment portfolio from the usual opportunities available on the market.

Danainfra's maiden issuance, which aims to raise funds for the construction of the mass rapid transit (MRT) project, will have a nominal value of RM300mil.

Danainfra's retail sukuk was created as part of its efforts to broaden its investor base by allowing participation of retail investors to fund the MRT project, its factsheet stated.

The date of issuance and listing on Bursa is targeted for Feb 8, opening offer date was yesterday with its closing date on Jan 18.

The first Danainfra retail sukuk that will have a tenure of 10 years is guaranteed by the Government and is a syariah-compliant investment with CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd as the syariah adviser.

According to Danainfra, yields are about 3.7% although this figure is not yet finalised pending the market appetite for the retail sukuk.

The minimum investment board lot size for exchange traded bonds and sukuk (ETBS) is 10 units per lot size with a principal price of RM100 per unit. Thus each board lot will cost RM1,000 excluding transaction costs, a factsheet by Bursa Malaysia stated.

It added that profit payment of Danainfra's retail sukuk, which will be paid semi-annually, is also tax exempted while the profit rate per annum would be fixed throughout its tenure.

The Government has also approved the utilisation of investors'Employees Provident Fund account 1 to allow direct investments to include ETBS instruments or government and government-guaranteed bonds and sukuk through authorised agents.

Bond Pricing Agency Malaysia chief executive officer Meor Amri Meor Ayob told StarBiz that Danainfra's issuance was a “positive step in the right direction” for the country as it offered a new investment asset class for retail investors.

RAM Holdings group chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng also said he believed there was strong appetite for fixed-income instruments such as Danainfra's being the latest.

“They will boost investors' confidence in these secure investments. Infrastructure-related bonds and sukuk funding make up close to 30%-40% of issuances today,” Yeah added.

According to Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd's chief executive officer Razlan Mohamed, there will likely be a “strong demand” for this retail issuance because of the size of the offering which will be easily absorbed by retail investors.

(The Star Online / 09 Jan 2013)

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Malaysia: 50 halal firms to benefit from project

SUBANG JAYA: Fifty companies from the halal industry are expected to benefit from a special pilot project spearheaded by the Department of Standards Malaysia to help them understand and better implement halal requirements.

Helping local players to be self-sufficient, Standards Malaysia has initiated a series of activities for businesses to ride on the waves of the expanding halal industry, said its director general Fadilah Baharin at the preview of Malaysia's first in-depth research report on the halal industry.

According to her, the halal industry grew 75% between 2010 and 2011 and expected it to grow further.

Globally, the halal market is estimated to be RM6.3 trillion annually while in the first half of 2012, RM16bil worth of halal products and services were exported from the country.

“Malaysian businesses can tap on the extensive opportunities in the industry to increase the amount of exports,” she said.

Through workshops and an in-depth research, which involved 650 consumers and 350 industry players, industry players are expected to benefit from the insights provided, she added.

Findings of the research will be published in the Malaysia Halal Industry Market Report 2012.

One of the key insights of the research indicated that the interpretation of halal' was currently limited to pork and alcohol-free processes.

However, there was a lack of understanding on Halalan Toyyiban', which sets criteria on safety, hygiene and cleanliness, she said.

(The Star Online / 08 Jan 2013)

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Malaysia ‘a leader in Islamic finance’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has emerged as a leader in Islamic finance with just over a fifth of its banking system, by assets, to be syariah-compliant.

With the average of syariah-compliant banking for other Islamic countries at about 12%, Malaysia is the world’s most important Islamic finance centre, according to a recent article in The Economist.

In many ways, Malaysia has led the charge in getting Islamic finance accepted. The country issued the world’s first sovereign sukuk in 2002; in the first three quarters of 2012 it was responsible for almost three-quarters of total global issuance. Malaysia is also home to the Islamic Financial Services Board, an international standard-setting body.

The Economist article said these are big achievements for a small country of just 30 million people, of whom only about 60% are Muslim.

It said in neighbouring Indonesia, which is home to the largest Muslim population in the world, only about 4% of the financial sector is syariah-compliant.

The magazine quoted Dubai’s Fajr Capital Investment Fund’s Iqbal Khan who said that although the much richer Gulf states and Saudi Arabia have bigger Islamic banks, it is Malaysia that is the centre “for thought leadership in Islamic finance”.

Malaysia was able to carve out its niche in Islamic finance mainly through its Muslim heritage, outward-looking nature and links with financial hubs like UK and Singapore. These assets, plus the support of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), made Malaysia a natural candidate to bridge the worlds of religion and capitalism.

BNM’s setting up of the International Centre for Education in Islamic finance was particularly instrumental in raising Malaysia’s pre-eminence in supplying the knowledgeable workers for the sector.

It also set up the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM) which concentrates on vocational training, offering a variety of certificates in Islamic finance. IBFIM also acts as a consultancy to banks and firms that want to become Shariah-compliant.

These two bodies are the pipeline to provide banks with talent versed in Islamic finance, the article quoted BNM governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

Zeti went on to say that syariah-compliant banks are inherently more stable than conventional peers because speculation is forbidden and returns are based on profit-sharing, not interest.

(F.M.T News / 07 Jan 2013)

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Malaysia hailed as most vital Islamic-finance hub

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is the world's most important Islamic-finance centre, although the richer Gulf states and Saudi Arabia have bigger Islamic banks and Indonesia the largest Muslim population, influential financial news magazine The Economist says.

Malaysia also dominates the global market for sukuk, or Islamic bonds, the magazine said in an article headlined Banking on the ummah:Malaysia leads the charge in Islamic finance, in its latest issue on Jan 5.

“Leadership in financial services is not an obvious one. Yet, in some ways the country is the world's most important Islamic-finance centre,” said the magazine.

“Just over a fifth of the country's banking system, by assets, is Syariah-compliant; the average for Muslim countries is more like 12%, and often a lot less,” it added.

On the Islamic bonds, the magazine said the country issued the world's first sovereign sukuk in 2002 and in the first three quarters of 2012, it was responsible for almost three-quarter of total global issuance.

It said Malaysia was home to the Islamic Financial Services Board, an international standard-setting body.

“These are big achievements for a relatively small country of just 30 million people, of whom only about 60% are Muslims.

“In neighbouring Indonesia, which is home to the largest Muslim population in the world, only about 4% of the financial sector is Syariah-compliant.

“Although the much richer Gulf states and Saudi Arabia have bigger Islamic banks, it is Malaysia that is the centre for thought leadership in Islamic finance,” said the magazine, quoting Dubai's Fajr Capital investment fund founder and CEO Iqbal Khan.

The magazine said Malaysia's Muslim heritage, outward-looking nature and links with financial hubs like Britain and Singapore made the place a natural candidate to bridge the worlds of religion and capitalism. The central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, is also supportive.

It said two institutions in particular the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) and the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM), both set up by the central bank have contributed to Malaysia's pre-eminence in the field.

INCEIF, set up in 2005 and boasting about 2,000 students, is the world's leading university for the study of Islamic finance.

The International Syariah Research Academy, housed within INCEIF, brings together scholars to produce an internationally acceptable rule-book for Islamic finance.

The IBFIM concentrates on vocational training, offering a variety of certificates in Islamic finance as well as acts as a consultancy to banks and firms that want to become syariah-compliant.

Bank Negara head Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Ungku Aziz was quoted by the magazine as saying that these bodies were the “pipeline to provide the banks with talent” and not just in Malaysia.

“All these give Malaysia greater status within the ummah and the global Islamic community,” she said, adding that they were important to a country that often felt on the periphery of the Muslim world.

Dr Zeti argues that Syariah-compliant banks are inherently more stable than conventional peers.

“Speculation is forbidden and, because charging interest is prohibited under syariah law, returns are based on profit-sharing,” she said.

(The Star Online / 07 Jan 2013)

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Malaysia: Banking on the ummah

OF MALAYSIA’S claims to fame, leadership in financial services is not an obvious one. Yet in some ways the country is the world’s most important Islamic-finance centre. Just over a fifth of the country’s banking system, by assets, is sharia-compliant; the average for Muslim countries is more like 12%, and often a lot less. Malaysia dominates the global market for sukuk, or Islamic bonds. The country issued the world’s first sovereign sukuk in 2002; in the first three quarters of 2012 it was responsible for almost three-quarters of total global issuance (see chart). Malaysia is also home to the Islamic Financial Services Board, an international standard-setting body.

These are big achievements for a relatively small country of just 30m people, of whom only about 60% are Muslim. In neighbouring Indonesia, which is home to the largest Muslim population in the world, only about 4% of the financial sector is sharia-compliant. Although the much richer Gulf states and Saudi Arabia have bigger Islamic banks, it is Malaysia, argues Iqbal Khan of Dubai’s Fajr Capital investment fund, that is the centre “for thought leadership in Islamic finance”.

How did the country carve out this niche? Malaysia’s Muslim heritage, outward-looking nature and links with financial hubs like Britain and Singapore made the place a natural candidate to bridge the worlds of religion and capitalism. The central bank, the Bank Negara Malaysia, is also supportive.

Two institutions in particular, both set up by the central bank, have contributed to Malaysia’s pre-eminence in the field. The first is the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). Established in 2005 and boasting about 2,000 students, INCEIF is the world’s leading university for the study of Islamic finance. The International Sharia Research Academy, housed within INCEIF, brings together scholars to produce an internationally acceptable rule-book for Islamic finance.

The second institution is the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM). It concentrates on vocational training, offering a variety of certificates in Islamic finance. IBFIM also acts as a consultancy to banks and firms that want to become sharia-compliant.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the head of the central bank, says that these bodies are the “pipeline to provide the banks with talent”. And not just in Malaysia. There are currently students from 80 countries at INCEIF; and IBFIM has taught people from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Palestine and elsewhere.

All of which gives Malaysia greater status within the ummah, the global Islamic community, important to a country that often feels on the periphery of the Muslim world. There are more tangible benefits, too. The Islamic subsidiary of Maybank, a big local lender, already accounts for about half of the group’s customers and is expanding abroad: it set up a subsidiary in Singapore 18 months ago and has also moved into Indonesia.

Ms Zeti argues that sharia-compliant banks are inherently more stable than conventional peers. Speculation is forbidden, and because charging interest is prohibited under sharia law, returns are based on profit-sharing. Perhaps. Islamic finance is hardly foolproof: Dubai’s debt crisis in 2009 showed that sukuk can help to inflate debt to unsustainable levels. But whatever its pros and cons, Malaysia will provide much of the evidence either way.

(The Economist / 05 Jan 2013)

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Alfalah Consulting - Kuala Lumpur: www.alfalahconsulting.com
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Islamic Investment Malaysia: www.islamic-invest-malaysia.com