Hong Kong is well placed to leverage its status as a global financial hub and establish links with industry powerhouses in Southeast Asia and Middle East countries, said Azman Mokhtar, Chairman of the Leadership Council of the Malaysian International Islamic Finance Center. It is said that there is.
“As the world deglobalizes, sands are shifting and new trade and investment routes are being set up in many ways,” he said at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on Thursday. He added that Hong Kong can cooperate with market leaders such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to expand or deepen its services.
Mr. Azman was the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, from June 2004 to July 2018. The fund's invested assets amounted to 122.5 billion (US$25.9 billion) at the end of 2022.
Islamic finance is a system that operates according to Islamic law and principles that promote ethical and socially responsible financial practices.
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Citing industry forecasts, Azman said Islamic finance has made great strides to become a USD 4.5 trillion market globally and is expected to grow by 11% annually until 2030. Islamic banking and services are an attractive and rapidly growing sector, he added.
Hong Kong needs Islamic finance, Arabic talent to attract Gulf investors
Hong Kong needs Islamic finance, Arabic talent to attract Gulf investors
“Over the next five years, that amount will double to $9 trillion to $10 trillion, driven by the demands of the 2 billion Muslims who contribute nearly 10% to the global economy and represent 24% of the world's population,” he said. Deaf,” he said. .
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The comments come as the Chinese government steps up its outreach to the region amid worsening U.S.-China relations and a joint effort by Executive Secretary John Lee Kachiu and Paul Chan to strengthen the city's economic and financial ties with the region. This follows recent initiatives by Treasurer Mopo.
Azman also mentioned some firsts in Islamic finance in other non-Islamic countries in the region. Australia is set to establish its first Islamic financial institution this year to serve the country's 813,000 Muslims, and Luxembourg's central bank became the first European country to join the Islamic Financial Services Board.
Based in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, the board is tasked with setting global standards to promote and strengthen stability in the Islamic financial services industry.
