as a platform upon which international inter - linkages are fostered. the sukuk market has demonstrated its ability to effectively intermediate funds across borders and thus contribute towards the efficient allocation of funds in the international financial system. on the supply side, it has drawn the participation from corporations, sovereigns and multilateral agencies. on the demand side, it has now become part of mainstream asset allocation strategies for investors seeking greater risk diversification. today, the sukuk market has become an important avenue for international fund raising and investment activities with the sukuk becoming a truly global product, generating significant cross - border financial flows. the internationalization of islamic finance is also evidenced by the growing presence of islamic financial institutions that now operate beyond their own jurisdictions and the increased number of international foreign financial institutions that offer islamic financial products and services. indeed, increasingly, islamic finance has become part of the growth strategies of a growing number of the global financial players. in addition, the traditionally domestic - focused islamic financial institutions are now venturing abroad. these developments have resulted in the increased international participation in islamic financial markets. new horizons are also fast emerging, as seen by the concrete efforts for legislative and regulatory changes in several non - traditional markets to facilitate the introduction of islamic finance in these markets. the rapid internationalization in islamic finance has also been underpinned by the massive flow of knowledge, ideas, technology and people across borders, a process which fosters a greater international understanding on the practices in islamic finance. this is taking place through the strong international cooperation in the area of human capital development and the development of global ancillary service providers that specialize in islamic finance. this has resulted in the proliferation of programmes and certifications that focus on islamic finance around the world and the development of islamic indices, information repositories, and the provision of professional consultancy services. more recently, there has also been an increased global engagement in shariah matters among scholars, practitioners and regulators through international platforms. this is a remarkable achievement, given that much of these developments have taken place amidst the tumultuous global financial environment. in parallel with the rapid internationalization of islamic finance, this recent decade has seen the increased emphasis being given to the development of the international financial infrastructure relating to financial stability in islamic finance. this is another important area in which significant milestones have been achieved. in 2002, we saw the establishment of the islamic financial services board ( ifsb ) as the international prudential standard setting body

zeti akhtar aziz : opening of bank negara malaysia beijing representative office and initiatives to promote bilateral trade and investment remarks by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the opening of the bnm beijing representative office, beijing, 18 november 2013. * * * it is my great pleasure to welcome you to this official opening of bank negara malaysia ’ s beijing representative office. the opening of this representative office today is an occasion of unprecedented significance for us. this beijing office is bank negara malaysia ’ s very first presence in asia. this is a reflection of the growing importance of china in the global economy and the international financial system and the very significant and longstanding financial and economic ties between malaysia and china. this momentous occasion also marks the dawn of a new chapter as our bilateral relations transitions and evolves reflecting the significant changes taking place in our respective economies and financial systems. for many decades now, the foundation underpinning the strength and dynamism of our relationship is our ability to continually harness the complementarities that exists between our economies. while bilateral trade has consistently been expanding at double digit growth rates over the recent two decades, the breadth and depth of our relations have also evolved and expanded into greater financial linkages. in parallel to our growing economic ties, our financial institutions have also ventured into each financial systems, further strengthening our financial and economic connectivity. currently, two of china ’ s biggest banks, namely bank of china and icbc have operations in malaysia while malaysia ’ s two largest banks, maybank and cimb have established their presence in china. our beijing representative office, being inaugurated today, also signifies an important milestone in the cooperation between the people ’ s bank of china and bank negara malaysia. our two central banks have long cooperated in many areas of common interest in particular in the area of financial cooperation. in july of 2005, our currencies transitioned into a more flexible exchange rate regime at the very same moment. this enabled malaysia to transition to this new regime effectively and efficiently. bank negara malaysia has for more than a decade also participated in the fixed income market in china. we were among the first central banks in the world to be awarded the qualified foreign institutional investor ( qfii ) license to invest in china ’ s fixed income onshore financial markets and to be granted access to the china interbank bond market. our close central bank cooperation is also reinforced through the