MIFC Leadership Council to guide Malaysia's progress as an international Islamic finance gateway

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) have announced the establishment of the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) Leadership Council. The Council will provide industry stewardship to enhance Malaysia’s proposition as a global marketplace and as an international gateway for Islamic finance. 

The MIFC Leadership Council will provide thought leadership as well as drive strategy formulation and monitoring industry initiatives to solidify Malaysia’s leading position in Islamic finance. It is expected to catalyse industry developments towards nurturing new ideas, deepen and diversify strategic linkages with international partners and strengthen MIFC global advocacy. 

Appointed for a term of three years, the Council members will be guided by national strategic development plans, including BNM’s Financial Sector Blueprint 2022 - 2026 and the SC’s Capital Market Masterplan 3 (CMP3). Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar will lead the Council as the Chairman, with council members comprising prominent local and international industry figures as well as representatives from BNM and SC. 

In undertaking its mandates, the Council will leverage the expertise of and collaborate with experts from the financial, corporate and academic fraternity as well as relevant authorities and agencies, to advance areas of mutual interest and support deliberation of industry’s initiatives.

Malaysia retains lead in global sukuk share in 2015

Malaysia has retained its leading position as a sukuk hub in 2015, accounting for 53% of global issuance at the end of the year, says RAM Ratings. 

“This is a strong finish for Malaysia, which has had to contend with the devaluation of the ringgit, slower sukuk issuance and new issuers from other countries,” notes Ruslena Ramli, RAM Ratings’ Head of Islamic Finance. 

Although the performance pales in comparison to the country’s 69% of share of global sukuk as at end-2014, the ringgit remained the currency of choice (39%) for sukuk issuance, followed by the US dollar (32%) and the Indonesian rupiah (9%).

On the domestic front, the value of outstanding sukuk had increased month on month to RM608.5 billion as at end-2015 (end-November 2015: RM595.3 billion), accounting for 54% of the market’s outstanding debt securities. RAM Ratings’ latest edition of the Sukuk Snapshot also shows that sukuk constituted 45% of the RM254.2 billion of domestically issued debt securities in 2015.

The Sukuk Snapshot is designed as a quick reference point for sukuk data and trends. This monthly publication aims to serve the needs of market practitioners, enabling them to monitor global and Malaysian sukuk market developments. 

Interested?

Read the full report

Plantronics adds Apple Watch and Android Wear controls for premium headsets

Plantronics, an audio and wearable technology specialist, announced that the latest version of its Plantronics Hub for iOS and Android now supports the Apple Watch and Android Wear, broadening the company’s reach to include other devices within the growing mobile device ecosystem.

With the new smart watch extension, people can now manage the headset experience directly from their wrist. Plantronics Hub v3.5 for iOS and Android lets users manage, customise, and control premium Plantronics Bluetooth headsets, including the Voyager Focus UC headphones. Supported controls include muting and unmuting the headset, volume control, battery status, and ending calls. 

Interested?

Plantronics Hub v3.5 for iOS and Android with smart watch support is free and available* now at the Apple App store and Google Play.

*Plantronics Hub for iOS requires iPhone 5, 5S, 5C, 6, 6 Plus and iOS 8.3; Plantronics for Android requires OS v2.3.3 and later

Key concerns before Ramadhan in Malaysia and Indonesia

Indonesia wants to know the date; Malaysia is interested in seasonal shopping. Zeffri Yusof, Communications Manager, Google Malaysia, shared on Google's Asia Pacific blog that  searches like 'kapan Ramadhan' (when is Ramadhan) and 'jadwal Ramadhan' (Ramadhan schedule) start getting popular from May, about two months before the month begins.

"Many people are searching for the official government start date, which may or may not be the same as what is determined by Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, the two largest Muslim organisations in the country. Each has their own method, which means Muslims across Indonesia will begin fasting on different days," Zeffri Yusof explained.

In Malaysia, the trending query pre-Ramadhan is 'pinjaman bazar Ramadan' (loan bazaar Ramadan). According to Zeffri Yusof, this is because food bazaars are an important part of the Malaysian Ramadhan tradition. "Many small business owners take time off from their regular businesses and borrow money to set up stalls at Ramadhan bazaars which are visited by throngs of people after sundown," he said. 

Source: Google Ramadhan hub for Indonesia.

Google's Ramadhan hub has country-specific versions for various countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia, and an Arabic version as well. On July 15, the Jakarta Globe described the features of the revamped Indonesian hub in detail. 

Google unveils new Ramadan Hub

Google has changed the look and feel of its Ramadan Hub today, the first day of Ramadhan for some parts of the Muslim world. This is the old hub, which displayed a live feed from Makkah, and Ramadhan-themed entertainment, recipes, and invites visitors to share their pictures of the month:

Source: Google website pre-Ramadhan 2014.

This is the new hub, featuring a tile-based interface reminiscent of Windows 8. At the bottom it notes: "There are 43,200 minutes in Ramadan. Make the most of every minute by scheduling get-togethers and penciling in key events on Google Calendar":

Source: Google website.

Clicking on each of the tiles invites visitors to make use of a Google feature. For example, photo sharing is still encouraged, but Google asks that the photos are placed on Google+ with the hashtag #ShareRamadan.

The Ramadhan hub was launched in 2013.  Visit the page here.