Malaysia’s reputation as the centre of global Islamic finance is well deserved. Not only does it dominate the global sukuk market, accounting for 67% of total issuance in 2014, but its sharia-compliant banks have exceeded global norms both in terms of return on assets and asset growth in recent years. Today, the country’s Islamic lenders are expanding sharia-compliant finance to new groups, including the underbanked, while exploiting their regional presence to promote the development of Islamic finance across south-east Asia.
“Malaysia has benefited from strong domestic growth, as well as the performance of other economies in the region, including Indonesia and Singapore. [In turn], Malaysia’s Islamic banks have been enjoying a sustained period of growth,” says Muzaffar Hisham, chief executive of Maybank Islamic, the largest sharia-compliant lender in south-east Asia by total assets.
