Malaysia, Bahrain Exchanges To Collaborate On Islamic Products

by Mary Swire, TaxandNews.com, Hong Kong

28 January 2010

The Malaysian stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia Berhad (BMB), and the Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a joint commercial agreement between the two exchanges to provide financial products to the Islamic market.

The MOU will involve a feasibility study to identify shariah-compliant products, including a commodity murabaha trading platform to satisfy short-term financing needs. It will lay the foundation for both exchanges to work jointly on increasing the awareness of investment and liquidity management opportunities in their respective Islamic markets using acceptable shariah solutions.

In a press release, BMB's Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, who signed the MOU on behalf of the Malaysian exchange, which also owns the Labuan International Financial Exchange, said that "the collaboration with BFX is aimed at facilitating cross border development in the Islamic financial markets, widening market reach, exchanging technological expertise and building a sustainable business model for both exchanges."

"This is a major step towards consolidation in the Islamic finance world,” he added. “As both Exchanges come together on a single platform, this will add to the strength of this industry. This initiative will go a long way in addressing the issues of standardization, innovation and transparency, thus providing a new dimension to the Islamic finance market."

In addition, BFX board director, Arshad Khan, said: "This initiative is a major development for the Islamic finance market where the collaboration will seek to offer a wider risk management portfolio to global Islamic practitioners. By partnering with Bursa Malaysia we can ensure that the products offered are well defined, robust and fully shariah compliant.”

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Razif Abdul Kadir, Deputy Governor of the Bank Negara Malaysia; Nik Ramlah Nik Mahmud, Managing Director of Malaysia’s Securities Commission; and Abdul Rahman Al Baker, Executive Director, Financial Institutions Supervision, of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Recommended