encik adnan zaylani mohamad zahid : islamic finance - future trend keynote address by mr encik adnan zaylani mohamad zahid, assistant governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the 13th kuala lumpur islamic finance forum 2016 ( kliff ) " islamic finance - future trend ", kuala lumpur, 21 november 2016. * * * it is my pleasure ; and an honour to be given the opportunity to speak at this forum today. since the first introduction of kliff, more than a decade ago the event has gained recognition as a prestigious annual gathering for industry experts and key players in islamic finance. i therefore wish to congratulate the organisers for its success in organising this event and maintaining its momentum. this year, in line with the chosen theme deliberations in the forum will revolve around strategies to elevate islamic finance to the next level. as we are now at an important crossroads in islamic finance, its continued dynamism in the journey ahead, requires the industry to strategically respond to the changing requirements of the global economy. my remarks today centres on the future trend of islamic finance. in charting our growth for the industry, i will reflect on our achievements ; and offer some thoughts on key areas that can accelerate the industry forward. i would then deliberate on the key underpinnings for the industry to successfully meet the intended objectives, in my conclusion. islamic finance with a growth rate of between 10 to 12 % annually in the past decade is gaining prominence at many fronts, including its ability to meet the unique demands of the modern economy. the sukuk market in particular, has produced a dynamic stream of cutting edge products with an appeal that transcends beyond borders and beliefs. it has a wide geographical spread, with global sukuk outstanding domiciled in over 20 countries, and an investor base that spans from europe to the middle east and asia, thus allowing greater diversification of exposures and risks. malaysia, with a consistent global sukuk market share of more than 50 %, over the last 10 years, has sustained its position as the market leader. in the last few years, we have witnessed increasing sovereign sukuk issuances by non - muslim jurisdictions to meet the varying motivations of its issuers. in 2015, at least 13 jurisdictions have tapped the global sovereign sukuk market. issuances by the united kingdom and hong kong

##ise. concluding remarks ladies and gentlemen, i shall conclude with a few brief remarks of a more general nature. the ultimate goal of entry into the euro area is an ambitious one and, for this reason, it is necessary to start preparing for this prospect well in advance. broadly speaking, the prospect of eu membership should encourage accession countries to make all the macro and microeconomic adjustments necessary to join the euro area. in this way, eu accession may set in motion a virtuous cycle of long - term sustainable economic growth. as the experience of current euro area participants shows, accession countries may encounter difficulties, and even sometimes feel frustration, during the different stages of this process. however, these difficulties should not discourage accession countries from going ahead with the project of entry into eu and, later on, the euro area. undoubtedly, eu enlargement poses great challenges to both the accession countries and to the european union itself. creating the right economic and political conditions and adjusting the european institutions for the eventual integration into the eu of all accession countries is certainly an enormous task. however – and here i come back to what i mentioned at the beginning of my speech – the project of european integration should not be regarded just as a stimulating exercise of facing up to never - ending “ challenges ahead ”, but rather as a historic opportunity to deepen and extend the idea of europe. i am confident that we, as europeans, and more specifically in our central banking function at the ecb, will be able to master the “ challenges ahead ” and, in this way, to contribute to the completion of the european project through the successful integration of the future member states into the euro area. thank you for your attention.