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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The first meeting of the private sector led Joint Forum on Islamic Finance (Forum) was held in Hong Kong today (December 3). The Forum was set up pursuant to an agreement between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in August 2013 to strengthen collaboration between Hong Kong and Malaysia in the area of Islamic finance.
The meeting was attended by senior representatives of eight commercial banks and three fund management companies. The HKMA and BNM acted as facilitators, while the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited also participated in the meeting.
The Forum participants reviewed the current developments of Islamic finance globally and in both jurisdictions, and discussed measures to further the development of Hong Kong's Islamic financial market, particularly the sukuk market and the Islamic fund management industry.
The meeting agreed on the following:
1. Sukuk
The Forum participants agreed to identify potential sukuk issuers and encourage cross-border sukuk issuances between Hong Kong and Malaysia. In particular, corporates located in the region could be one of the key sources of potential sukuk issuers. Hong Kong market players supported that sukuk should be offered as one of the possible options or solutions to their clients who have funding needs, as sukuk can be a means for potential issuers to expand their investor base. Participants also welcomed the initiative of the Hong Kong SAR Government to consider issuing sukuk, which will showcase Hong Kong's Islamic financial platform to local and international issuers and investors.
2. Islamic funds
The Forum participants agreed to actively consider launching Islamic funds and making use of the established mutual recognition framework for Islamic funds between Hong Kong and Malaysia to facilitate cross-border Islamic financial activities. This will encourage a wider range of Shariah compliant fund offerings in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Participants welcomed the plan by the HKMA and BNM to jointly organise an Islamic Finance conference in the first half of 2014 to be held in Hong Kong, where they can take the opportunity to enhance market awareness on Islamic finance.
The meeting also agreed to enhance the strategic financial linkages between Hong Kong and Malaysia aimed at facilitating cross-border investment flows and creating greater opportunities for investors from the region and other parts of the world.
The next meeting of the Forum will be held in Kuala Lumpur in the second half of 2014.
Note: The private sector participants of the Forum were from the Hong Kong and Malaysian offices of eight banks, namely CIMB Group, Citibank, Hong Leong Group, HSBC, Maybank Group, Public Bank Group, RHB Banking Group and Standard Chartered, and three fund management firms, namely BOCHK Asset Management, Maybank Asset Management, and RHB Islamic International Asset Management.
Ends/Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:45
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