The ability of Islamic banks to structure Investment Account in accordance with the risk profile and characteristics of the underlying assets offers an attractive opportunity for customers to diversify their investment portfolio across various halal sub-sectors. Second is the wide network of Malaysian financial institutions in facilitating halal exports to tap into regional markets. Increasing interest from ASEAN countries which makes up 42% of the global Muslim population as well as demand from non-Muslim dominated Asian countries such 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  as Japan, Korea and Vietnam provide a huge halal consumption base for domestic halal businesses to tap on. Currently, three Malaysian financial institutions have leveraged their extensive global network and strategic partnerships to assist halal exporters in gaining access to new markets. Moving forward, Malaysian financial institutions should take advantage of the strong government-to-government (G2G) ties and multilateral strategic cooperation in the halal sector between countries to offer Islamic trade finance to halal industry players. The third factor is the ability of Islamic financial institutions to facilitate businesses to transition towards more sustainable practices. The underlying concept of Maqasid Shariah which propagates for the attainment of benefits as well as preventing harm, resonates well with sustainability principles that call for a balanced, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Adopting sustainability practices is imperative to ensure the longevity of businesses. Failure to take this into account may result in substantial financial loss to the halal industry given that our trade partners have started imposing expectations on sustainability as preconditions to transact.

We borrow today, because we are confident that the income will come tomorrow. How can debt be reduced? While the financial crisis in 2008 brought debt growth to a sudden halt in some countries, debt growth continues to outpace income growth for Norwegian households. This can hardly go on forever. If debt needs to be reduced, the question is how? Sovereign borrowers can levy taxes and thereby have a reliable source of revenue. Even so, being the creditor of a sovereign can be risky. In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks repudiated all debt issued by the previous regime. French investors, among them many small savers, held nearly half of the Russian national debt at the beginning of the First World War. They were among the first big losers of the Russian Revolution.2 In the inter-war period, these losses had consequences for French foreign policy. France became a fierce opponent of the Soviet regime. The losses on Tsarist bonds may have also contributed to France’s unwillingness to restructure German debt after the war. Germany’s debt burden contributed to the hyperinflation of the 1920s and the fall of the Weimar Republic. Now, on the evening of 9 April, 79 years after the German invasion of Norway, we can conclude that debt m have fateful consequences. After Boris Yeltsin raised the Russian flag in 1991, the French creditors returned. Old bond certificates were retrieved from drawers. A final settlement was agreed in 1996.