KFH Research, part of the Kuwait Finance House group, has released Islamic finance updates for Malaysia and Indonesia. According to the research firm, Malaysia continues to lead the Islamic finance world in terms of
industry asset size and activity in the market, while Indonesia has seen a CAGR of 35.79% from 2005 through 2013.
Islamic Finance Updates: Malaysia notes that Islamic finance assets
in Malaysia amounted to US$365 billion in the first half of 2014, ahead of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. Amongst corporate issuers, 1H14 saw a wider range of
sectors issuing sukuk, and debut sukuks issued by a major takaful
operator and a real estate and investment trust (REIT). Malaysia’s Islamic banking sector continued to grow at a faster
rate compared to the conventional banking sector. These developments
were supported by continued efforts to enhance regulatory clarity in
Islamic finance.
Islamic banking assets in Indonesia reached IDR250.1 trillion in 1H14, according to Islamic Finance Updates: Indonesia. In the first six months of 2014, new Indonesian sukuk
issuances contributed IDR34.2 trillion (US$2.88 billion) or 4.3% of the global
sukuk market. This compares with US$3.17 billion, or 5.2% of the market in 1H13.