Malaysia’s deputy finance minister on 11 June said that the country aims to take the lead in the evergreen Islamic financial sector, by being the first economy worldwide to pioneer Islamic wealth management products. Ahmad Maslan said that the new innovation within the Islamic financial framework would further prosper the global Islamic financial industry, which is expected to grow to US$2 trillion this year. As of the end of last year, the total worth of the industry was US$1.3 trillion.
Malaysia is known as one of the global leaders of Islamic finance, with the country currently the world’s largest sukuk issuer, the second largest Islamic insurance – Takaful – market and the third largest Islamic banking market. Sukuk is the Arabic word for financial certificates, but can also refers to the Islamic equivalent of bonds.