Labuan IBFC, ASA and STEP further discussion on Islamic wealth management

Labuan IBFC, the official marketing agency for Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC), together with the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance Malaysia (ASAS) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Malaysia recently brought together industry practitioners and experts to explore the intersection of Islamic wealth planning, estate administration and shari'ah governance, with a focus on cross-border wealth management and family governance. 

The event built on the partnership established through the memorandum of understanding between Labuan IBFC and ASAS, while further strengthening engagement with STEP Malaysia and the wider professional community. Discussions covered estate administration beyond faraid, shari'ah estate administration governance, succession planning and the use of trusts, takaful and other wealth structures. 

Ben Quah, CEO of Labuan IBFC highlighted Labuan IBFC's role as a platform for Islamic private wealth planning and cross-border wealth solutions in a keynote address. "As wealth becomes increasingly global, families need flexible solutions that offer asset protection and long-term continuity. 

"Labuan IBFC is well positioned to meet these needs while complementing Malaysia's leadership in Islamic private wealth through strong ecosystem collaboration," he said. 

The programme opened with Beyond Faraid – The Real Challenges in Muslim Estate Administration, examining practical challenges in estate administration while exploring solutions to translate succession intentions into effective estate planning. This was followed by a dialogue which explored how effective governance and proper documentation can help ensure wealth planning arrangements are implemented consistently with shari'ah requirements. 

In her welcome address, Farah Deba, Branch Chair of STEP Malaysia said: "Beyond faraid means faraid is only one part of estate planning. However, this does not mean planning beyond Islamic principles. We come from three different perspectives - where STEP speaks as advisors to families across generations while Labuan IBFC brings the international family wealth and structuring dimension, whereas ASAS brings the core shari'ah perspective." 

In her closing remarks, Yusaini Yusof, EXCO member of ASAS emphasised: "Shari'ah governance ensures that the legacy is properly structured, successfully implemented and ultimately serves maqasid shari'ah. ASAS shall continue to support this journey for greater engagements and increased professionalism of the wider shari'ah fraternity and practitioners." 

Maqasid (مقاصد) refers to goals and intents.

HLB Islamic charts new course in wealth stewardship

Hong Leong Islamic Bank is transitioning to a refreshed consumer-facing brand identity, HLB Islamic, and a strengthened core proposition that approaches financial services not as a series of siloed products and transactions, but as total wealth stewardship through a shari'ah-principle-guided lifecycle approach known as Hayat @ HLB Islamic. 

Source: HLB Islamic. Dafinah Ahmed Hilmi, CEO of HLB Islamic (left) and Kevin Lam, Group MD and CEO of HLB (right) unveiling the refreshed identity of HLB Islamic and introducing Hayat @ HLB Islamic, the bank’s new proposition centered around wealth stewardship.

Hayat @ HLB Islamic empowers customers to look beyond wealth as a standalone category, and instead view their entire financial journey through the lens of wealth. This evolution is rooted in the bank’s new philosophy, Timeless Principles Guiding Tomorrow’s Wealth, introduced during its 20th anniversary last December.  

Kevin Lam, Group MD & CEO of Hong Leong Bank (HLB) said: "Our transition to HLB Islamic is a deliberate step to foster deeper brand affinity with our diverse clientele and a clear declaration of our intent to scale our shari'ah-compliant franchise into a primary engine of growth for HLB. 

"By aligning our Islamic banking identity more closely with the core HLB brand, we are making our shari'ah-compliant solutions more intuitive, accessible, and digitally integrated. Looking ahead, our goal is for HLB Islamic to be the preferred gateway for wealth stewardship in Malaysia, demonstrating that value-based solutions that are truly customer-centric can lead the market in both innovation and resonance.” 

True to its commitment to empowering purposeful wealth stewardship, customers can now access zakat (زكاة), sadaqah (صدقة), and waqf (وقف) services directly through the HLB Connect app.

The Hayat @ HLB Islamic journey begins with Wealth Creation and Accumulation, focusing on generating purpose-driven wealth from the first paycheck and investing in shari'ah-compliant assets. This foundation is secured by Wealth Protection to shield against uncertainty, and elevated by Wealth Purification, which promotes ethical stewardship through giving. Finally, Wealth Distribution moves beyond inheritance to help customers design legacies that pass down values alongside financial assets. 

Dafinah Ahmed Hilmi, CEO of HLB Islamic commented: “We understand that our customers entrust us with the fruits of their success and the security of their family’s future. It is a responsibility that requires us to be incredibly thoughtful, and this realisation is what led us to launch Hayat @ HLB Islamic. We believe that financial planning should be grounded in a long-term wealth stewardship mindset; by building our solutions around the various life stages of our customers, we ensure that this journey is simple, seamless, and intuitive.”

“There is an inherent beauty in Islamic banking. Its principles offer a holistic and dignified view of wealth, connecting every financial decision with a balanced responsibility toward society. Grounded in maqasid al-shari'ah foundations, Hayat @ HLB Islamic integrates the full arc of a life journey, from a child’s first savings to legacy planning, ensuring the path is not only profitable but purposeful." 

"Our responsibility as a bank is to bridge the gap between the theoretical and the practical, empowering our customers to approach financial management from a perspective of wealth stewardship and abundance, while remaining firmly rooted in shari'ah principles,” added Dafinah. 

To celebrate this new milestone, HLB Islamic invites customers to embark on their Hayat journey with the chance to visit their destinasi impian (dream destination). By engaging with eligible products across any of the five Hayat @ HLB Islamic pillars, customers can stand a chance to win travel prizes to Japan, China, and Vietnam.

*Maqasid al-shari'ah (مقاصد الشريعة) refers to the philosophy behind shari'ah law.

Emirates Islamic presents 2017 investment outlook

Source: Emirates Islamic. Jamal (left) and Dugan (right).

Emirates Islamic, a UAE-based Islamic financial institution has shared the investment outlook for 2017 with its wealth management clients in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Presented by Gary Dugan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) for Emirates NBD, Dealing with Global Disruptors - Investment Outlook for 2017 detailed disruptions to the global economy in the last year which have created challenges to conventional wisdom. Citing events such as Brexit, US President Donald Trump’s victory, the rise of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the launch of the Tesla car as global disruptors, Dugan said: “These political and technological events were major surprises to global financial markets, and have triggered significant shifts in the valuations of currencies and asset classes. More importantly, they have forced investors around the globe to rethink their long-term investment strategies.”

Explaining that the disruptions to conventional wisdom would most likely continue through 2017, Dugan advised, "Given the ongoing volatile global economic and political environment, it is important to invest in countries and sectors that offer long term growth and value. We believe for example, that sectors like technology and healthcare and countries like India offer relative value in current environment. As a general principle, investments should focus on preserving capital, while at the same time achieving reasonable profit levels.”

“Gold continues to play an important role for us. The yellow metal price has continued to deliver returns and remains a key diversification component for investment portfolios,” he added.

The investment outlook event was in keeping with Emirates Islamic’s vision to be a leading Islamic bank in the region. The bank has continued to build on its long-term relationship with customers, through a ‘customer first’ approach, which focuses on personalised financial services.

Jamal Bin Ghalaita, CEO, Emirates Islamic said: “Wealth management is one of the key pillars of the banking proposition at Emirates Islamic, and we aim to provide personalised wealth advisory services to our clients through a comprehensive platform, backed by in-depth knowledge in Islamic finance and extensive expertise in local and regional investments. The continued collaboration with global Islamic finance solutions providers also empowers Emirates Islamic to provide additional value to clients, and enables us to move closer to our goal of becoming the preferred provider of shari’ah-compliant wealth management solutions in the region.”

Interested?

Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the shari'ah standard for gold

The significance of a shari'ah standard for gold

Source: AAOIFI website. Emblem for the
shari'ah standard for trading in gold.

A shari'ah standard for gold investment is one of the most exciting developments for the precious metals industry in recent times.

The AAOIFI standard from the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) was launched at the end of 2016 to clarify how gold investments can be compliant with shari'ah law.

Under the rules of ribawi (ربوي)*, six items frequently change hands, and more stringent rules are needed to protect consumers from usury - which is prohibited in Islam - and theft, explained Shaokai Fan, Director, Central Banks and Public Policy, World Gold Council, speaking at a panel about the topic at the inaugural Asia Pacific Precious Metals Conference in Singapore. The event is organised by the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA).

"There was a reluctance to embrace gold as a modern asset class (because of the) limited shari'ah guidance around gold," he said. "The existing guidance was fragmented and limited."

Lin discusses the potential for gold as an investment in Islamic finance.

As one of the premier and most respected standards bodies in Islamic finance, whose standards are widely used throughout the Islamic universe, AAOIFI standard has been welcomed by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Lin observed.

"Having this standard out there says without a doubt that gold is shari'ah-compliant," Fan said. "The standard is definitive and comprehensive."

Gold has low correlations with existing Islamic asset classes and is no more volatile than the existing assets. It is traded at much higher volumes than sukuk, and has powerful diversification capabilities, extending the "size of the playground" significantly, Fan said. "With gold (you) can move into a large asset class during times of financial distress," he noted.

He added that the World Gold Council is developing solutions that fit the needs of all Islamic classes. "We are working with Islamic financial instutions on creating new gold-based products, engaging with Islamic institutional investors and other buy-side institutions on the case for gold in Islamic finance," he shared.

Southeast Asia has a big part to play when it comes to trading gold the shari'ah way. In the March 2017 edition of Crucible, an SBMA publication, Lin calls Southeast Asia the "natural home for new shari’ah-compliant gold products". "Malaysia has long been a vanguard in Islamic finance with a robust array of shari’ah-compliant solutions catering to a wide variety of investors. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country and the government has prioritised the development of Islamic finance as a financial development policy. Gold has performed better in ringgit and rupiah terms over the past decade than in US dollar terms, reflecting its usefulness as a wealth preservation instrument for investors in the region.

"The World Gold Council is actively working with several Southeast Asian financial services providers to provide new gold financial products for retail consumers that will comply with the standard," he stated in the publication.

Two shari'ah-compliant gold investments are the SGX Kilobar Gold Contract and the HelloGold mobile gold investment platform.

Chin discusses the Singapore Kilobar Gold Contract.

Announced mid-December 2016, the Singapore Kilobar Gold Contract is the world’s first shari'ah-compliant gold futures. The contract was certified by Amanie Advisors, an advisory firm specialising in Islamic finance solutions, to be in compliance with the Shariah Standard on Gold as set out by AAOIFI.

William Chin, Head of Metals & Bulk Commodities, SGX, said the gold contract is a credible, transparent benchmark for the market and complements the over-the-counter market. "Shari'ah compliance will require product innovations (and) multiple efforts across multiple regions," he said.

HelloGold is a fintech company that offers the HelloGold gold trading platform via a mobile app. HelloGold has also been certified shari'ah-compliant by Amanie Advisors. Robin Lee, MD, HelloGold, noted that the opportunity for shari'ah-compliant gold investment products is huge when 815 million people have no choice but to maintain their wealth as cash or in savings accounts.

According to Lee, an estimated 300 million Muslims in the ASEAN region and China have no access to suitable Islamic financial products because minimum eligibility requirements are out of their reach. HelloGold, on the other hand, enables customers to buy 99.99% investment-grade gold from as little as RM1. The company charges a 2% per annum management fee.

Lee discusses the size of the Muslim target market for shari'ah gold investments.

Interest in HelloGold has been high, Lee said. A modest marketing campaign resulted in 1,000 customer signups, he said.

"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive both from investors and financial institutions," summarised Lin. "When we were in Bahrain in December 2016 (introducing the standard) the crown prince (told us) 'Why did you take you so long to come up with this?'."

*A definition of ribawi. There are only six items considered under ribawi, gold, silver, wheat, salt, barley, and dates.

Learn about planning for wealth distribution in Islam this June

Source: Al-Mukminin Mosque. Poster for the Planning
of Wealth Distribution in Islam course.

There is a lot to consider to maintain the purity of property in accordance with the policies and guidelines of shari'ah.

The Planning of Wealth Distribution in Islam course by ADIL Singapore on 17 June will provide a clearer picture on money management from the shari'ah perspective alongside current issues, case studies and fatwas.

Conducted by Ustaz Irwan Hadi, the course will discuss are the concept of wealth, its importance, as well as the dimensions of wealth planning, which includes wealth accumulation, protection, purification, cleansing and disposition.

Interested?

Planning of Wealth Distribution in Islam 17 June 2017
9am to 5pm

Al-Mukminin Mosque
Register

Alizz Islamic Bank launches Tharwa Wealth Management

Source: Alizz Islamic Bank. The launch ceremony for Tharwa Wealth Management Segment was held under the patronage of HE Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm, in the presence of HH Sayyid Taimur bin As'ad Al Said, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alizz Islamic Bank, The Honorable Salaam bin Said Al Shaksy, CEO of the bank, and Moosa Al Jadidi COO of the bank.

Alizz Islamic Bank has launched the Tharwa Wealth Management Segment as a significant pillar for the bank.

Tharwa offers services led by a team of seasoned relationship managers that will be available at all branches. The managers can be assigned to meet any customer at a location convenient to the customer. The team ensures that customer requirements are always met and provide special advisory about products and services most suitable to customers’ needs.

Tharwa customers have exclusive privileges, including access to special discounts on travel, accommodation, restaurants, entertainment and various VIP services. They have access to exclusive Tharwa lounges across the sultanate, which are designed to ensure privacy in conducting their banking transactions and round-the-clock access to online and mobile banking services.

In addition, Tharwa customers can manage their money through the Izdihar sweep savings account, which adheres to the Islamic principle of unrestricted mudarabah. Amongst the many advantages of the Izdihar savings account are attractive expected profit rates, immediate access to funds and linkage to a current account that offers flexible withdrawals through a cheque book, while the customer earns generated profit on a monthly basis.

Alizz Islamic Bank also launched the MasterCard World Credit Card for Tharwa customers at the same time. The card offers customers complete flexibility to explore international destinations and access to several hospitality services in more than 400 cities around the world. The cardholder is also entitled to a free night 's stay and an immediate upgrade at all Starwood Hotels & Resorts, as well as an insurance cover for travel, accident, and medical services of up to US$2,000,000.

Moosa Al Jadidi, COO, Alizz Islamic Bank said: "This segment has been designed to provide world-class banking services to high net worth individuals in the country. The launch of Tharwa also marks Alizz Islamic Bank’s launch of the MasterCard World card for these exclusive customers. Alizz is proud to provide premium services catering to the needs of our customers. We adopt a comprehensive approach centered around customers and have assigned a dedicated team of experts to provide world class services.

"We are committed to provide our customers with unparalleled banking services to guarantee the quality of service and peace of mind through a wide range of shari’ah-compliant products and services. All our banking solutions are designed to guarantee our customers have the flexibility to complete their banking transactions with ease.”

Alizz Islamic Bank was established to strengthen the Islamic banking services in the Sultanate through its innovative banking solutions. It is the only bank in Oman that offers 35 products that meet the needs of both individual and corporate clients. All products and services provided by Alizz Islamic Bank have been approved by the Fatwa and Shari'a Supervisory Board. In the last few months, the bank has also introduced dedicated services to the small and medium enterprises as part of its efforts to offer diverse banking solutions to all segments of  society.

Labuan IBFC begins ASEAN roadshows with session on shari'ah-compliant solutions

Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC), Asia Pacific’s midshore international business and financial centre, has launched a series of roadshows across ASEAN.

The Labuan IBFC ASEAN Roadshow 2016 will visit key countries in ASEAN and, for the first time will include events as well as closed door briefings in the emerging economies of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. The roadshows have kicked off in Jakarta, Indonesia, will continue through till end-July.

“Our approach to the roadshow this year is distinct as we are targeting business owners in the region looking to internationalise or even regionalise their businesses. We believe that with as businesses embrace higher tax transparency requirements, it would be natural for them to consider to establishing substance in a well-regulated jurisdiction facilitate cross border transactions and investments.” said Danial Mah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Labuan IBFC.

He went on to state that the roadshow will also focus in meeting the wealth management needs in the region, adding that as ASEAN has a large Muslim population, the Jakarta chapter of the roadshow focuses on shari'ah-compliant wealth management solutions.

Themed Innovative Solutions towards Islamic Wealth Management the kickoff masterclass was aimed at Indonesian service providers, intermediaries and high net worth individuals who are looking to better understand shari'ah-compliant wealth management offerings, wealth preservation and succession planning solutions.

Mah, who is also the Deputy Director General of Labuan FSA, said, “What makes Labuan IBFC different is that it was established with the main aim of intermediating crossborder trade and investments in the region. The expectations are that intra-Asia and ASEAN trade and investments will grow, and there is a need for a well-regulated jurisdiction in the region able to facilitate these trades and investments. ”

The masterclass included a presentation on the Labuan International Waqf Foundation, a shari'ah-compliant wealth management tool, which incorporates the element of waqf* (وقف‎) in its structure.

Labuan IBFC is the only jurisdiction in the region offering foundation structures including Islamic foundations with waqf elements built in.

The event also included a panel session titled Opportunity and Challenges: Islamic Wealth Management in Asia with Dr Aida Othman, Director at ZICO Law Shariah Advisory Services, Maikel Sajangbati, CEO and Founder of MaeSa Consulting Indonesia as well as Aderi Adnan, Business Development Director of Labuan IBFC.

The panel focused on the new Islamic wealth management environment in light of more stringent global regulatory requirements, evolving Islamic wealth management strategies amidst changing family legacy mindsets, experiences and cultural differences in Asia.

Interested?

View event details


*Waqf refers to a donation made for a religious, educational or charitable cause.

posted from Bloggeroid

KFH Bahrain launches Wealth Management Department

KFH-Bahrain’s Wealth Management Department has been officially launched. 

Abdul Razak Jawahery, Executive Manager at KFH-Bahrain; Head of Wealth Management commented, “Upon the successful soft launch of the Wealth Management department, we were able to evaluate and identify a good appetite towards our products and offerings which enabled us to accelerate our strategies for those clients who were sitting on significant capital value within their own business models.”

Jawahery explained that the department can invest in large institutional strategies. "Our clients benefit from various depositor accounts having a number of privileges and features from international murabahah and mudarabah. As their personalised investment command centre, we provide a number of investment products in both discretionary and non-discretionary methods for equities and sukuk. For investments in real estate there are a number of opportunities in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UK to select from, and, as part of our expansion plans, the department is developing key strategies to launch commodities and real estate opportunities in other geographic areas.”

Interested?

The Wealth Management Department at KFH-Bahrain offers a range of Islamic wealth management products and services. Contact the team at 77 000 500 in Bahrain.

BNP Paribas-INCEIF CIWM co-launch booklet on socially responsible investing

Source: INCEIF. From left: INCEIF Deputy President (Academic), Professor Datuk Syed Othman Alhabshi, BNP Paribas Malaysia chairman Dato’ Abdullah Mat Noh and Director of the MIFC Promotion Unit Nik Mohd Din at the launch of the SRI booklet during the Managing Risks in Islamic Finance Industry symposium organised by CIWM.

The BNP Paribas – INCEIF Centre for Islamic Wealth Management (CIWM) has launched a booklet about socially responsible investing (SRI) titled SRI (Sustainable Responsible and Impactful) & the Case for Islamic Funds. The SRI booklet is a joint effort between CIWM and the Malaysian International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) to raise awareness on the inextricable link between sustainable and shari'ah compliant investments. 

The booklet has three sections: 

Foundation and growth of investing through principles
Investors' increasing attraction for the SRIs
The case of emerging markets, Islamic investments and the Malaysian option

The key objective of this publication is to create awareness on shared SRI and Islamic finance value propositions and develop a global interest for SRI sukuk. It also seeks to support business engagements in securing SRI mandates and environmental, social and governance-based business. 

Labuan IBFC reports strong performance for Islamic finance in 2014

Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC), Asia Pacific’s midshore international business and financial centre, reported strong performance across all financial sectors in 2014, including banking, insurance, leasing, wealth management and Islamic finance, with 12.3% increase in new company registrations compared to the previous year.

The organisation notes that 70% of companies registered in Labuan IBFC originate from Asia, with 57% from Southeast Asia, mainly Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

“Labuan IBFC has its strengths in terms of its proximity to strategic Asian markets and sound regulatory framework, with simple as well as competitive tax system. With our balanced supervisory and regulatory framework coupled with our strategic location in the heart of Asia Pacific, we believe Labuan IBFC stands out as the ideal ‘midshore’ jurisdiction from which to base regional business operations for both trading and investment purposes,” said Danial Mah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer at Labuan IBFC.

In the wealth management sector, Labuan IBFC foundations are increasingly used as wealth preservation solutions. There was an almost 40% increase in the number of Labuan IBFC foundations established in 2014 compared to the previous year, with 73% of them originating from Asia.

While wealth management is one of the core offerings of Labuan IBFC, the business and financial centre also carries out all aspects of business and financial activity ranging from banking and insurance to Islamic financial services.