Islamic Financial Services
From The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2016
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With a strong Islamic banking sector, a growing Islamic insurance (takaful) industry and an expanding market for Islamic bonds (sukuk), Brunei Darussalam has recently been drawing much attention internationally as a center for Islamic financial services (IFS). Indeed, Brunei Darusslam is now amongst the nine countries worldwide where Islamic finance has reached systemic importance – places where more than 15% of total domestic banking assets belong to the sector. Located in the heart of a region that contains five of the 10 largest Muslim countries by population, Brunei Darussalam is also well placed to capitalize on the fast-growing role Asian Islamic finance is taking in this robust global industry. With some two-thirds of the world’s Muslims living in Asia, many of them in seriously under-banked markets, such as Indonesia, the region continues to hold strong potential for the industry. This chapter contains an interview with Javed Ahmad, Former Managing Director, and Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD).

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Major player: As the country moves towards sharia law, the sector is poised to grow in importance and scope
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With a strong Islamic banking sector, a growing Islamic insurance (takaful), industry and an expanding market for Islamic bonds (sukuk), Brunei Darussalam has recently been drawing much attention internationally as a centre for Islamic financial services (IFS). Indeed, Brunei Darussalam is now amongst the nine countries worldwide where Islamic finance has reached systemic importance – places where more than 15% of total domestic banking assets belong to the sector. Located in the heart of a region…

Interview

Coming up: OBG talks to Javed Ahmad, Former Managing Director, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD)
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Interview:Javed Ahmad Do you expect an increased use of Islamic financial services in the short term? JAVED AHMAD: Five years ago, we projected that the Brunei banking industry would become predominantly Islamic, and at that time many people asked me if we were ambitious. But the reality is that we are nearly there today. The majority of Brunei’s population is Muslim, but this does not mean that Islamic banking is only for Muslims. We have been providing the same quality of services and…

Analysis

New moves: Islamic bonds expand the country’s financial base
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Brunei Darussalam made headlines in April 2016 with the announcement of several sukuk (Islamic bond) offerings ahead of the launch of a standalone stock exchange in the Sultanate. Efforts to expand the scope of the financial sector are aimed at ensuring a greater diversity of public and private sector financing, specifically in support of businesses and infrastructure projects. A roadmap of financial sector expansion is laid out in the Sultanate’s long-term national vision, Wawasan Brunei 2035.…