The introduction of its Finance Qualifications Structure that will be launched today has strategic significance, as it aims to link the various qualifications relevant to financial practitioners under a cohesive framework which will allow for greater mutual recognition on qualifications and provide clear and systematic learning path for financial professionals. Complementary to this initiative is the launch of the Learning Standard to ensure more global consistency for learning contents across the financial services industry in line with international industry benchmarks. Technology can also be explored to remove barriers or impediments in promoting greater interconnectedness in Islamic finance as we aim to create stronger linkage with the real sector. As a catalyst to improve market access and enhance outreach, technology has the potential to disseminate information more efficiently, to promote greater market transparency and price discovery. Today, the launch of the digital application for Islamic finance is a further pioneering platform to facilitate sharing of information and for greater engagement, including between industry players that transcend borders. Such innovation is an impetus for raising greater awareness on benefits of Islamic finance as a form of financial intermediation. Realising cross-border business opportunities for greater linkages The next frontier of Islamic finance beckons the global Islamic finance marketplace to evolve its business models to that which would strengthen the nexus of Islamic finance with the real economy.

The upcoming debut sovereign issuances from established financial centres and emerging markets and the increasing diversity of the composition of sukuk investors across continents, in addition to the growing trend for multi-currency sukuk issuances, cumulatively contribute towards strengthening the dynamism of the sukuk as a global product for fund raising and investment activities in the international financial markets. Malaysia, has witnessed an increasing trend of issuances of foreign currency denominated sukuk in our domestic sukuk market, reinforced by an increasingly wider investor base as reflected by the increased and more diversified foreign investor participation in such issuances. In parallel with this rapid growth of cross-border financial flows has been the increased attention to the development of the international financial architecture relating to financial stability in the Islamic financial system. With the important two international institutions already well established, that is, the accounting standards setting organisation, AAOIFI, and the prudential standard setting body, the IFSB, concerted global efforts have been directed towards the progressive implementation of the recommendations in the eight building blocks identified in the Islamic Finance and Global Financial Stability Report 2010. In particular, the efforts have been focused on the adoption and operationalisation of the prudential standards and the development of the potential for effective liquidity management as part of the efforts to safeguard financial stability. It is encouraging that there has been a higher adoption of the prudential standards issued by the IFSB, with implementation by 13 regulatory and supervisory authorities worldwide with indications that there are more in the pipeline.