Islamic banking and finance is likely to continue growing in the Asia-Pacific region but the real test of its sustainability will be how the system reacts to a major financial crisis, a report said yesterday.
The industry is set to develop its own identity separate from conventional banking as new Islamic financial products are rolled out, said the report by Financial Insights, a company under market research and analysis firm International Data Corp.
"The future for Islamic banking and finance in Asia looks bright and continued support by government authorities should ensure this future is grounded in strong, sensible regulation," said Abhishek Kumar, an analyst at Financial Insights.
He noted, however, that the industry's growth in recent years has occurred during a period of economic expansion, and there are concerns over how it would perform during a major financial crisis.
financial crisis
"How the system handles a major financial crisis or recession will be the true test of its sustainability," Kumar said.
Conventional banking systems in several Asian countries crumbled during a financial crisis in 1997, exposing the industry's weaknesses and excesses. They have since recovered.
Islamic financial assets under management are currently valued at more than US$400 billion worldwide, with the industry growing at double digits annually, the report said.
Islamic banking fuses principles of Shariah and modern banking. Islamic funds are banned from investing in companies associated with tobacco, alcohol or gambling considered taboo by Muslims.
As the industry matures, there is likely to be a shift from Islamic banking products that resemble conventional ones to completely new offers, helping it to develop its own unique identity, the report said.
complementary
"The ... industry has reached a point where, in some product areas, it can provide a credible alternative to traditional banking products," it said, adding that this will be complementary rather than competitive.
The report added that Islamic funds are attracting a large number of non-Muslim clients.
Malaysia has "effectively established itself as the regional, if not global, hub for Islamic finance," the report said.
Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand and Singapore are also among the countries in Asia actively promoting Islamic finance, it said.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
EMBRACING TAIWAN: US lawmakers have introduced an act aiming to replace the use of ‘Chinese Taipei’ with ‘Taiwan’ across all Washington’s federal agencies A group of US House of Representatives lawmakers has introduced legislation to replace the term “Chinese Taipei” with “Taiwan” across all federal agencies. US Representative Byron Donalds announced the introduction of the “America supports Taiwan act,” which would mandate federal agencies adopt “Taiwan” in place of “Chinese Taipei,” a news release on his page on the US House of Representatives’ Web site said. US representatives Mike Collins, Barry Moore and Tom Tiffany are cosponsors of the legislation, US political newspaper The Hill reported yesterday. “The legislation is a push to normalize the position of Taiwan as an autonomous country, although the official US
CHANGE OF TONE: G7 foreign ministers dropped past reassurances that there is no change in the position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including ‘one China’ policies G7 foreign ministers on Friday took a tough stance on China, stepping up their language on Taiwan and omitting some conciliatory references from past statements, including to “one China” policies. A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored last month’s Japan-US statement in condemning “coercion” toward Taiwan. Compared with a G7 foreign ministers’ statement in November last year, the statement added members’ concerns over China’s nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for “constructive and stable relations with China” and
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
RSS