The Maldives is idyllic to be developed as an internationally recognised Islamic finance hub, proclaimed experts of Islamic Finance on Monday.
Speaking at the opening of the “Fin Talk” series of lectures organised by Maldives Centre for Islamic Finance (MCIF), the centre’s chairperson Aishath Muneeza declared that the work done to develop Islamic finance in the Maldives over the past five years has borne fruit. She highlighted that the island nation was included in the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development report last year as one of the fifteen countries with the fastest progress in Islamic Finance.
The former secretary general of Malaysia’s Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim also took part in this session. He stated that though Islamic Finance currently accounts for only one percent of the world economy, it is progressing rapidly with general banks also investing in the field.
He stated that certain features of the Maldives’ economy makes the nation ideal to be developed as an Islamic finance centre, such as maintaining the US Dollar value, providing on-arrival visas and its Special Economic Zones Act.
Rifaat’s opinion was seconded by the former CEO of Malaysia’s Standard Charter Bank, Afaq Khan, who noted that the Maldives’ brand alone provides a unique opportunity for Islamic financing.
“Everyone knows ‘Maldives’!” he declared, going on to say that there are many who would like to visit or live in the island nation.
He added that finding investments for Islamic finance would not be a great challenge considering the Maldives’ location and that nearly all the major airlines in the world currently operate to the archipelago.
Under the “Fin Talk” programme, lecture sessions on developing the Islamic finance sector in the Maldives to an international hub will be conducted on various days with the participation of several foreign experts.
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