The rise of the renminbi as an international currency would facilitate trade, investment and financial activities that are commensurate with the continued growing importance of China in the global landscape. Of significance to the Asian region, the rising importance of the renminbi will reinforce the trend towards greater regional financial and economic integration. China is already the main trading partner for most economies in the region. The increased usage of the renminbi and the more developed regional financial markets for the renminbi provides an opportunity to recycle savings within the region and thus support the increased intra-regional investment activities. More renminbi-based trade within the region will create pools of renminbi liquidity which would create a demand for instruments which would in turn spur the development of more efficient and integrated renminbi capital markets in the region that can contribute towards better intermediation between the surplus and deficit units in the region. In addition, the renminbi can be a source of stability for the global monetary system. The increasing use and recognition of the renminbi as an international reserve asset will strengthen the foundations of the current global monetary system that is currently reliant on too few major currencies. With the increased economic and financial interconnectivity in the world today and the greater potential for international policy spillovers, a more multipolar global monetary system with more diverse sources of global liquidity would contribute towards a more stable international financial system. Looking ahead, these developments present tremendous opportunities for the private sector.

This will become increasingly important when it involves strategies and positioning of the “ummah” in the economic sector. Shariah assessments that include input and findings of multiple disciplines as well as variations of insights will provide more added values to a particular Shariah research. This effort can be implemented through active involvement of professionals in the  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  process of researching Shariah issues. I am confident that through this approach, we will be able to formulate a collective ijtihad that is comprehensive, in comparison to ijtihad that is peripheral and exclusive. In the Malaysian context, we have decided to encourage the combined expertise and experience between Shariah members and professionals through the Shariah committees of Islamic financial institutions. In fact, we also encourage qualified Shariah scholars to be appointed as members of Board of Directors at Islamic financial institutions, specifically to form a “bridge” or point of connection between the Board and the Shariah Committee members, and to allow them to gain greater exposure to the operational situation in the management of Islamic financial institutions. The process of knowledge sharing and discussions on Shariah as well as on other realms of Islamic knowledge among the Board members of a particular financial institution will enrich the justifications of a particular deliberation before a decision is made. Another key aspect is the importance of Shariah scholars to thoroughly understand the impact of ijtihad on the growth of the Islamic finance industry and society at large.