Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Sustaining Islamic banking and finance growth through effective dissemination of information Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the official launching of the Islamic Banking and Takaful Expo: “Sustaining Islamic banking and finance growth through effective dissemination of information”, Kuala Lumpur, 8 October 2004. *  *  *  “The domestic Islamic financial system has reached an unprecedented expansion, successfully operating in parallel with the conventional financial system. The further development of Islamic finance requires for it to be endowed with the right pre-requisites to perform as an effective, efficient, resilient form of financial intermediation that supports wealth creation and sustainable economic growth. At the heart of this effort is the necessity to meet the financial requirements of consumers and businesses. While significant progress has been achieved in the development of the overall Islamic financial infrastructure, financial institutions and products that has been reinforced by the strengthening of the regulatory, Shariah and legal dimensions, there has also to be the effective dissemination of information to promote greater nationwide awareness on Islamic finance, to create a more well-informed society on the virtues and benefits of the financial services being provided. Providing information and knowledge is thus integral in our endeavor to steer the development of the Islamic financial system in Malaysia.” Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, Saya bersyukur dapat bersama para hadirin semua di Majlis Pelancaran Ekspo Perbankan Islam dan Takaful 2004, anjuran Persatuan Institusi Perbankan Islam Malaysia (AIBIM).

Overall, monetary and financial developments point to low inflationary pressures and liquidity risk. Monetary indicators continued to slow down in December, as well. Annual money supply growth fell to 5.0%. Developments in the external sector were the main drivers of  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  money growth, whereas domestic demand for money was low. The relatively low demand of the government for borrowing and higher demand of households to invest in public debt securities reflected in reduced funding of the budget deficit by the banking system. Similarly, credit to the economy recorded low annual growth rates both for businesses and households. The domestic currency prevailed over foreign currencies in the credit market, hence enabling better transmission of the monetary policy signals to the economy. Recent information reconfirms our projections for future economic developments. In the period ahead, economic growth will be driven by economic developments in the global setting and in our trading partners, the fiscal policy nature and enhanced productivity. In 2013, economic activity is expected to remain weak and will continue to be driven by net exports growth, although at lower rates from 2012. The forecast is based on a non-encouraging economic outlook for our trading partners. It also reflects the low diversification of Albanian exports. Domestic demand is expected to remain at low levels, reflecting the sluggish private consumption and investments and the positive contribution of the public sector.