the conduct of the islamic banking institutions and takaful operators respectively. there is also the government funding act which governs the issuance of government islamic instruments. a dedicated high court judge has also been assigned to preside over cases relating to islamic banking and finance. an arbitration centre is also available to deal with disputes. the central bank act has also been amended to provide for the establishment of a shariah advisory council at the central bank as the sole authority and reference on all shariah matters. the treatment of tax neutrality has also been accorded to islamic financial transactions. to ensure the soundness and stability of the islamic financial system the regulatory and supervisory framework has also been improved for the islamic financial institutions, with the incorporation of stronger standards for corporate governance, transparency, disclosure, accountability, market discipline, risk management and customer protection. in addition, the payment system has also been continually upgraded to ensure efficient and effective clearing and settlement of payments. it is now highly automated with the ability to handle scriptless debt securities trading, processing and settlement. by providing a real time settlement system for inter - bank fund transfers, the credit and settlement risk in the islamic financial system has been minimised. attention has also been given to human talent management to create a sufficient pool of competent bankers essential to spearhead innovation in islamic financial products and services. to meet the increasing manpower requirements, institutions of higher learning and the islamic banking and finance institutes have also initiated new programmes on islamic finance. leading initiatives in the global integration islamic finance in malaysia has now taken on a new dimension to become more internationally integrated. this is part of the strategy to evolve malaysia as an integrated international islamic financial hub that will have a greater role in facilitating international economic and financial flows. 2 / 5 the liberalisation of the islamic financial system in malaysia commenced in 2004 with the issuance of three new islamic bank licences to foreign islamic financial institutions. these new entrants with distinct capabilities and strengths will not only participate in the growing domestic islamic banking industry, but will also be able to tap new markets in the region. this initiative will also promote healthy competition, thereby contributing to elevate the domestic industry to new levels of dynamism. in addition to this initiative, up to 49 % foreign interest is permitted in the islamic subsidiaries of the conventional banking institutions and in the takaful companies. the increased international integration is also reinforced by our own institutions venturing beyond our domestic borders, in particular to the asian region and to the

. to fast track the creation of a pool of talents and skill set to meet the increasing manpower requirements, malaysia is currently undertaking an initiative to establish an international centre for education in islamic finance. it will be designed to act as a professional certification body and a training institute for post - graduates. in addition, malaysia established the international centre for leadership in finance ( iclif ) in 2003 to also provide leadership development and management training for the islamic financial institutions. closely linked to having the talent is the need to have strong and well established islamic financial institutions. this presents another challenge for the islamic financial industry as there are currently not many large islamic financial institutions. many of the players are not large enough globally to finance large development projects, particularly in muslim countries and are not strong enough to underwrite the needs of the islamic financial community on a large scale. currently, some of the project financing in muslim nations are undertaken by large conventional banks because of the under capitalisation of the islamic financial institutions. we therefore need to have strong and highly capitalised islamic financial institutions that are able to offer the comprehensive and complete range of islamic financial products and services. besides having large islamic financial players with the required pool of expertise, the integration of the islamic financial system with the international financial system needs to be supported by the development of a full islamic financial system at the national level, thereby increasing the potential to effectively participate in a more liberalised and globalised environment. towards this end, malaysia together with other oic countries, are collaborating with the idb and ifsb to formulate a ten - year master plan for the future global development of the islamic financial services industry. the master plan will provide a road map to achieve a 4 / 5 convergence towards the common vision among countries in the development of an islamic financial system. conclusion in developing and strengthening our islamic banking and financial system to become more integrated with the international financial system, malaysia is positioning itself as an islamic financial gateway to the east asian region. in emerging on the radar screen of international investors, malaysia thus not only offering financial communities that want to deal in islamic financial transactions, but also the international investment community at large, the potential for further opportunities for financing and investment in productive activities. in closing, i wish to say that our mission is for the development of an increasingly international integrated islamic financial system. i am confident that in taking this approach, it would contribute towards facilitating increased trade and investment transactions, strengthening the global economic and financial inter - linkages, and thereby raising