These include environmentally friendly and ethical product offerings. While international transactions are on the rise, Islamic finance players also need to introduce mutually acceptable and comprehensive Shariah compliant financial solutions that can serve differentiated market needs. The availability of diversified offerings can be tailored to the financial needs on a regional scale and serves as an important stimulus for expanding cross-border investments. Secondly, the need to have diverse and dynamic intermediaries and market participants including auxiliary service providers with a global focus. As the phase of globalisation expands, industry players from various sectors including Islamic banking, takaful and capital market including service providers need to further widen their outreach internationally in 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  capitalising market opportunities. Towards meeting this prerequisite, businesses should forge partnership and strategic alliance to penetrate markets. Also of importance is the offering of multidisciplinary practices under one roof. For instance a consortium of service providers from legal and accounting disciplines with global linkages that enable seamless offering of clients’ services. To do so, a culture of knowledge sharing across borders and greater collaboration between the industry, regulators and the academia; including Shariah scholars need to be intensified to provide the linkages for effective knowledge building and informational flow. Thirdly, the need for business enablers, particularly in the areas of legislation, taxation and regulation that facilitate effective linkages and connections between global financial markets.

The report aims to provide insights to our stakeholders, namely investors, analysts and the business community on the current state and future potential of the Islamic financial sector in Malaysia. In documenting our journey, the report also seeks to present the lessons learned. Its in-depth information, featuring Islamic banking, takaful, Islamic capital market and education; and independent due diligence position the report as a potential beacon for interested investors. While we hope that the strong value propositions of Islamic finance in Malaysia are selfevident, today’s global markets would require accurate, timely and objective information that would enhance the confidence of businesses to use the services offered by this sector. The publication of the five Islamic finance country reports by IRTI would certainly add greater depth to the wealth of information available for the global community. In highlighting the Islamic finance prospects and opportunities across regions, it is my hope that trade and business linkages would further expand in the future. I would like to highlight a specific issue in my remarks today. The need to elevate Islamic finance to another notch; intensifying cross-border linkages among jurisdictions that practise and promote Shariah compliant financial services. An ambitious undertaking; but a necessary initiative that I thought would spearhead the next exponential growth of the industry. There are many prerequisites, but I would like to touch on four of them. Firstly, the global supply of a wide range of high-quality, competitive and innovative Islamic financial products and services that meet the requirements of international businesses.