Shariahcompliant corporations that are listed in major global Islamic stock market indices, such as the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indices and the FTSE Global Islamic Index, are able to enhance their profiles among the prospective investors, including those with inclination towards socially responsible investment. In Malaysia, similar listing opportunities are available through the FTSE Hijrah Shariah index and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia EMAS Shariah index for Shariah-compliant investment, that has been designed to provide a broad benchmark for investors that wished to invest in Shariah-compliant stocks. Malaysia operates a dual financial system that comprises the conventional and the Islamic financial system. Businesses are able to select the financial offerings that best serve their requirements. While Malaysia has progressively liberalised our financial system, the liberalisation of the Islamic financial system has been at a more rapid pace. The motivation for this is to forge greater international economic and financial linkages. Liberalisation of the conventional sector has been more gradual and sequenced to ensure that the financial system promotes balanced growth while remaining stable and sustainable. The robust legal and regulatory framework, together with the availability of a large and diverse pool of talent and expertise in Islamic finance, forms the solid components in the system to meet the requirements of businesses. There is also Shariah certainty in Islamic finance through a robust Shariah governance framework, which comprises Shariah committees at the industry level and the Shariah Advisory Council at the regulatory level.

There are also a wide range of investment and treasury instruments, as well as fund and wealth management products for the management of portfolios of businesses. In terms of takaful, there is also a broad range of products, including takaful coverage for physical properties and assets of businesses, as well as protection for employees. The growing significance of the international dimension of Islamic finance in this recent decade has witnessed its increasing role in bridging economies through the mobilisation and channelling of funds to productive investment activities across borders. Despite the challenging global environment and the increased uncertainties, the Islamic finance industry has continued to experience the double digit growth of 21 percent, and total Shariahcompliant assets have surpassed the USD1 trillion mark. There are now more than 600 Islamic financial institutions operating in more than 75 countries in both Muslim and nonMuslim jurisdictions. The emergence of new financial centres in Asia and the Middle East and their increased connectivity has strengthened the foundations for intra- and inter-regional linkages in trade and investments. More recently, Islamic finance is also being introduced in the EU region. The establishment of Islamic finance in key financial centres, namely London and Luxembourg, presents opportunities for businesses in the EU to raise funds using Islamic financial instruments such as the sukuk, and to diversify investment portfolios with Islamic fund and wealth management products. The development of Islamic finance has also been initiated in several other European economies.