is to achieve the ultimate objective for islamic finance that will contribute significantly toward the overall development of our economies, through the intermediation process to facilitate trade and investment. moving forward, it is the ability of islamic financial industry to build key strengths and enhance institutional capacity, intensify the collaborative efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the islamic financial infrastructure and the acceleration of its global integration that will provide the synergies and opportunities for the islamic financial industry in the face of this more challenging environment. in doing so, islamic finance can evolve into an important component of the international financial system that can contribute to enhance prospects for balanced global growth and shared prosperity.

muhammad bin ibrahim : asean financial integration, collaboration with myanmar and other challenges for malaysia speech by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the maybank myanmar grand opening, yangon, myanmar, 2 october 2015. * * * a very good evening, it is an auspicious occasion. congratulations to maybank on the opening of its branch in yangon, myanmar. i am very confident that the launching of this first branch marks the beginning of a productive, innovative and meaningful journey for maybank in contributing to the economic transformation of myanmar and in particular the development of its financial sector. i am confident that this branch will be the first of many to come. my remarks today will touch on three subjects : firstly, the importance of asean financial integration ; secondly, the close and long - standing friendship between myanmar and malaysia ; and the role of financial institution as a responsible corporate citizen. asean : story of the future that begins today members of asean have adopted an ambitious, unique and comprehensive vision for an economically and financially integrated region. i term it as unique since we are embarking on this process in a phased and gradual manner. each member country is given the flexibility to progress towards integration based on its state of readiness. it is an inclusive approach and a long term strategic plan to unlock the growth potential of our region in the coming decades. the case for integration is self - evident. from its inception, malaysia ’ s and its founding members ’ vision have always been for a strong and integrated asean region. the “ asean way ” believes there is strength in diversity and no country should be left behind. asean strongly believes in the concept of shared prosperity, where wealth creation within the region will be enjoyed by all. the spirit of cooperation and flexibility are amongst the principles which underpinned the success of myanmar ’ s chairmanship of asean in 2014. under myanmar ’ s leadership, we saw major strides in financial integration that culminated in the conclusion of the asean banking integration framework ( abif ) by the asean central bank governors. a framework of gargantuan achievement. myanmar ’ s leadership in seeing this through was crucial and now abif represents the single most important agreement in strengthening the asean banking system, driving deeper integration and enhancing the region ’ s growth potential. it is an agreement of momentous significance. i would also like to congratulate myanmar for successfully advancing the yangon outcomes for financial inclusion during their tenure as chair in 2014.