as that for the banks. the new entity will be termed international takaful operator. iv. fourth, the labuan offshore islamic banks and the islamic divisions of the offshore banks as well as offshore takaful operators will be given greater flexibility in their business operations by allowing the opening of operational offices anywhere in malaysia with no limitation on staffing, to conduct non - ringgit business while maintaining their presence in labuan. this measure would be accorded to the six existing offshore islamic banks and islamic investment banks operating in offshore centre labuan to participate in the mifc. v. fifth, incentives will be given to attract the best foreign talents and market players to the mifc to spur innovation and offering of attractive islamic financial instruments. this is to further strengthen the large pool of highly trained workforce with vast experience in islamic finance already in malaysia. further incentives will also be introduced to spearhead the aspiration of developing malaysia as a centre of education excellence in islamic finance to complement the mifc. vi. sixth, in the pursuit of this national agenda, an mifc executive committee comprising heads of relevant ministries, agencies and industry representatives has been set up as a single coordinating committee to efficiently and effectively act collectively in the implementation of the recommendations. the committee is entrusted to provide direction as well as review existing policies for the comprehensive and coordinated promotion of mifc, and to align the role and responsibilities of the respective parts of government and the industry to the development of mifc. the secretariat is bank negara malaysia, which will act on behalf of this committee as a one - stop body to fulfil this task. we believe that these measures and initiatives will serve as a catalyst in our efforts for malaysia to become a centre of origination, issuance and trading of islamic capital market and treasury instruments, islamic fund and wealth management, international currency islamic financial services, and takaful and retakaful business. it is also aimed at positioning malaysia as the gateway for tapping investment opportunities in this rapidly growing region. in this environment, financial players, particularly with investment banking and fund management expertise, would need to sharpen their strategies and intensify their efforts in structuring cutting - edge islamic investment instruments and in attracting new funds. investors, especially those from the middle east have shown strong interest to invest in malaysian assets and to become partners with our local business corporates. there are therefore significant opportunities to strengthen trade and investment ties with the middle east region. in respect of acceptable shariah interpretation

sovereigns, development institutions and corporations of capital deficit countries have the option of raising islamic financial instruments in capital surplus countries through the islamic financial intermediaries. significant economic benefits will arise from the strengthening of these inter - linkages. the expansion of inter - linkages of intermediation and markets among these regions would lead to a more efficient allocation of capital and thus enhance the prospects for strengthening further the growth performance. it also offers enhanced opportunities for raising financing and would also facilitate greater risk diversification. in particular, the strong growth performance in these regions create a significant potential demand for financial instruments that conform to the islamic injunctions. these dynamic regions can therefore be expected to contribute towards accelerating the expansion of islamic finance in the international financial system. indeed, these trends will also contribute towards promoting a more balanced global growth. the participation in the islamic finance intermediation process would require the development of a comprehensive and well established islamic financial system, a wide range of products and services ; a good legal system, adequate financial infrastructure with competitive tax structures, low cost of doing business, high standards of business ethics, and conducive living conditions and cultural offerings. it would also need to be supported by adequate human talents that would drive the business and spur innovation. in addition, a strong regulatory regime in the islamic financial system would be another pull factor. more recently, the regulatory regime in islamic finance has been further reinforced by rapid progress on the issuance of prudential and supervisory standards by the islamic financial services board ( ifsb ). fund raising, investments and risk diversification are essentially complex transactions. these transactions are highly dependent on financial markets that are well regulated and capable of evolving to meet the emerging new challenges and the changing market needs. finally, the potential for the markets to function efficiently would be enhanced if the financial market is developed in an environment that enjoys financial stability, monetary stability and sustained economy growth. the mifc initiatives to enhance the inter - linkages in the global islamic financial markets, malaysia is continuing its efforts to not only develop further the islamic financial infrastructure but to also implement measures and initiatives that will strengthen our position as an international islamic financial hub. the malaysian government is therefore launching an initiative known as the malaysia international islamic financial centre or mifc. the mifc initiative is specifically undertaken by the collective efforts of the country's financial and market regulators, including bank negara malaysia, securities commission, lofsa and bursa malaysia, together with the participation of the industry representing the