Global ancillary services that are proficient in the Shariah, also have an important role in providing supportive professional services for such intermediaries and market players to effectively embark on such cross-border activities. In addition, having the required talent is another imperative in steering the Islamic financial sector towards increased internationalisation. The new financial landscape will require world-class business talent and boards with knowledge of the risks associated with internationalisation. Greater collaboration between the industry and education service providers will be important in supporting the talent requirements of the industry in its new phase of development. Today, we will witness the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between an industry player and an academic institution for the establishment of an Islamic wealth management research centre. This commendable effort is dedicated to producing applied research in the area of Islamic wealth management. It is envisaged to spur innovation that will bring with it global benefits and that would also contribute towards setting industry standards in this key component of the Islamic financial industry. Thirdly, effective linkages and connections between global financial markets will be facilitated by business enablers, particularly in the area of legislation, taxation and regulation. The new global landscape of growing cross-border financial flows between regions that have national  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  and cultural differences also underscores the need for enhanced recognition and understanding of practices in the different jurisdictions.

The sukuk epitomises a truly global product for international fund raising and investment activities. An increasing number of multilateral agencies, sovereigns, Government agencies and corporations, including multinational corporations have relied on the sukuk market as a source of financing. And the diverse composition of the sukuk investors across continents has added further depth to the international dimension of the sukuk market. In Malaysia, the sukuk market has evolved into a multi-currency denominated sukuk market with pioneering sukuk issuances in U.S dollars, Singapore dollar and the Renminbi. Internationalisation of Islamic finance: key success factors The new horizon that is emerging is the rapid internationalisation in Islamic finance which needs to be strongly underpinned by three key factors to ensure its sustainability. Firstly, the wide range of global supply of high-quality Islamic financial products and services that are able to meet the requirements of international businesses. In this phase of growing international transactions, Islamic finance needs to be dynamic and innovative, with an emphasis on the development of diversified and comprehensive Shariah-compliant financial solutions to meet the differentiated needs of various businesses, including the requirements of international businesses and thus facilitate cross-border investments. Secondly, is having diverse and dynamic intermediaries and market participants that have a global focus. This includes having Islamic banking, takaful and capital market players that venture beyond domestic boundaries to tap global opportunities.