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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) jointly held in Hong Kong today (April 14) the HKMA-BNM Joint Conference on Islamic finance to raise the level of interest and appreciation on sukuk as a viable financing and investment instrument amongst the business and financial community from Hong Kong and the Mainland.
The half-day conference saw regulators and market leaders in the Islamic finance field from Hong Kong and Malaysia discuss and deliberate on a wide range of issues related to sukuk, from the latest trends in the global sukuk market to the business opportunities for Islamic finance in Hong Kong, the practical issues in structuring sukuk and its investment appetite.
In his opening remarks, the Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Peter Pang, said, "With the tax framework for sukuk in place, Hong Kong's financial platform is ready for sukuk issuance. We highly welcome local and overseas entities to make use of Hong Kong's platform to issue sukuk. To play a lead-off role for this market, we are working closely with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to prepare for the inaugural issuance of government sukuk under the Government Bond Programme to promote the further development of the sukuk market in Hong Kong." Mr Pang added, "We very much appreciate the close partnership we have established with Malaysia in developing Islamic finance and look forward to more co-operation opportunities in the future."
Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia Mr Muhammad Ibrahim said, "This inaugural conference is set to mark a significant step to enhance collaboration and deepen financial linkages in Islamic finance between Malaysia and Hong Kong. We look forward to sharing our Islamic finance marketplace with Hong Kong in terms of expertise in structuring, managing and distribution of sukuk as well as providing advice on legal and Shariah matters."
Mr Muhammad emphasised the importance of adopting international standards and best practices by new markets, with a proper governance framework to facilitate execution of Islamic finance transactions and instil investors' confidence in the industry. Potential areas of collaboration will also include dual listing of sukuk, leveraging on Malaysia's Shariah governance framework and arbitration platform, and developing human capital in Islamic finance.
The conference was attended by around 200 representatives from policymakers, regulatory authorities, corporations, financial institutions, fund management firms, law firms and other stakeholders from Hong Kong, Malaysia and other economies.
The conference was supported by the Treasury Markets Association. This event followed the first meeting, held in December 2013, of the private sector-led Joint Forum on Islamic Finance between Hong Kong and Malaysia, the next meeting of which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in the second half of this year.
Ends/Monday, April 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:30
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