Malaysia IFSA to diversify Islamic investment products -bankers

A provision under Malaysia's Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA) will prompt Islamic banks to diversify the investment products which they offer to customers, bank executives said.

Islamic banks will have until June next year to segregate Islamic deposits from investment accounts and explain the difference to customers. Deposits guarantee customers their principal, while investment accounts do not.

"The differentiation will allow the institutions to develop a wider range of products, for both classifications, to meet the diverse needs," the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Banks will incur some costs in educating staff and customers on the distinction.

"Call centers and people on the front line must be ready to answer queries," AIBIM president and Bank Muamalat Malaysia chief executive Redza Shah Abdul Wahid told reporters. AIBIM, which has 24 member banks, has been tasked with overseeing the transition under IFSA.

"At the end of the day, it's a major exercise undertaken by the industry to be able to transition efficiently," said AIBIM council member and CIMB Islamic Bank chief executive Badlisyah Abdul Ghani.

A clearer distinction between deposits and investment accounts will allow banks to become more creative in designing the accounts; for example, they may offer more products that use liquid assets such as sukuk, equities and commodities as the underlying investment.

"We will sell this product only to sophisticated investors, not just the man on the street," said Badlisyah.

(Reuters / 25 March 2014)

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

More Islamic investments to Kazakhstan

During the High Level Group Regional Forum in Almaty, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a member of Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), announced its intention to invest into four new EXPO-2017-oriented projects in Kazakhstan in 2014, Tengrinews reports.

ICD, Baiterek Holding and LGK Holdings signed a memorandum to create the Central Asian Fund of Renewable Energy with the initial capital of $50 million. The memorandum also involves a plan of development of six renewable energy source projects in Kazakhstan in 2014 and 2015. At the initial stage, the Fund will only finance projects in Kazakhstan.

ICD is going to cooperate with the Investment Fund of Kazakhstan in development of float-glass production in Kyzylorda in southern Kazakhstan. The $200 million worth project will start its operation in 2016. ICD considers the glass manufacturing project to be of strategic importance for the upcoming EXPO-2017, because this is going to be the first project of this sort in Central Asia. 

According to Mitkhat Korkmaz, a representative of the Aluminum Extrusion Plant that is being built by Aluminum Kazakhstan LLP, ICD will provide $10 million for procurement of manufacturing lines and raw materials during the first year of its operations. “The total cost of the project is $22 million and it will create 150 new jobs. The plant will start its work in August, 2014. It will be producing 600 tons of aluminum extrusion per month. It two years we plan to take the production to 1000 tons a month,” Korkmaz said. ENRC will be supplying aluminum from Pavlodar Oblast for the plant. 

ICD has achieved an agreement with OLZHA Holding to cooperate in construction of a grain terminal and elevator in Aktau, in western Kazakhstan. The terminal with have the capacity of 1 million tons per year. It will be focused on exporting grain to the Middle East and North Africa. The construction is expected to begin this summer.

ICD, affiliated with Islamic Development Bank Group, supports economic development of its member countries by providing finances to private sector projects in accordance with the principles of the Islamic law. ICD aims to invest into projects that are specifically designed to create new employment opportunities and increase exports. 

For more information see:http://en.tengrinews.kz/industry_infrastructure/More-Islamic-investments-to-Kazakhstan-25317/

Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz

(Tengri News / 17 Jan 2014)

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