Thought leadership has been an important pillar for the SC in advancing global development of Islamic capital markets, strengthening Malaysia’s position in Islamic finance. Though leadership events held in collaboration with global and regional committees enable industry stakeholders and regulators to identify global trends, growth opportunities and/or risks.
A collaboration between the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), a Recognized Independent Centre of the University of Oxford, began in 2010, with the overall objective of facilitating a more informed debate and greater levels of research, while providing more clarity and certainty on the process of articulating and approaching Islamic finance issues in a systematic way. This shared aim has culminated in the successful and well-regarded SC-OCIS Roundtable, a strategic platform for intellectual discourse among scholars, industry practitioners, regulators, intermediaries and investors alike in order to bring about greater awareness and understanding on topical issues relating to Islamic finance globally.
1st SC-OCIS Roundtable 2010
Theme: Developing a Scientific Methodology on Shariah Governance for Positioning Islamic Finance Globally
The first inaugural collaboration between the SC and OCIS. During the first roundtable, two research papers were deliberated namely, “Governance Standards and Protocols on Shariah Decision Making Process” and “Facilitating Origination instead of Adaptation: Shariah-based vis-à-vis Shariah-compliant” by Dr Mohamed Ali El Gari, Professor of Islamic Economics, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah and Dr Abbas Mirakhor, First Holder, INCEIF Chair of Islamic Finance respectively.
2nd SC-OCIS Roundtable 2011
Theme: Islamic Finance and the Public Good
The second Roundtable aimed to discuss on three topics, namely “Shariah, Finance and the Public Good”; “Shariah, Recourse to Law and Enforceability of Financial Contracts”; and “Creating an Enabling Corporate Structure for Islamic and Ethical Finance”.
3rd SC-OCIS Roundtable 2012
Theme: Solutions for Liquidity Management
The roundtable focused on `Solutions for Liquidity Management’ in Islamic finance, with the aim of identifying pathways to strengthen the international sukuk market, to address infrastructure constraints and issues relating to global connectivity, and to improve overall market integration.
4th SC-OCIS Roundtable 2013
Theme: Completing the Islamic Financial System Cycle from a Shariah-Compliant to a Shariah-Based Approach
The theme discussed on issues and challenges in transitioning from a largely Shariah-compliant structure to an all-encompassing Shariah-based approach.
5th SC-OCIS Roundtable 2014
Theme: Harnessing Waqf into a Bankable Social Financing and Investment Asset Class
The theme aimed to discuss challenges and potential of waqf in the philanthropic spheres, including issues of legislation, governance and professionalism, and capital. The possibility to renewed interest to revive waqf institutions and unleash the potential value of Islamic social assets such as waqf.
6th SC-OCIS Roundtable 2015
Theme: Seeking Sustainability: Role of Islamic Finance in The Transformational Change
The theme focused on the ethical issues surrounding Islamic finance, and the relevance of Islamic Finance for the provision of a more stable and sustainable financial order, especially in light of the recent banking crisis. Several case studies looking at social impact were examined and the meeting considered whether values-based finance needed extensive regulation, whether it could truly compete in terms of financial performance, and whether it could fully achieve Shariah compliance when still largely dependent on the wider conventional banking infrastructure.
7th SC-OCIS Roundtable 2016
Theme: Influencing Change in Finance & Society - Public Policy & Legislative Priorities
The theme discussed on how public policies have in the past, facilitated the development of Islamic finance. In this context, Malaysia was highlighted as a successful case serving as a model for other countries. The next level is for transformational change driven by public policy to further progress Islamic finance by incorporating universal good values as also propagated by Maqasid Shariah. The Shariah fraternity is also no exception in having to change their mindsets by learning how global finance has set sustainable objectives and to discover the convergence of the philosophy with Islamic finance
8th SC-OCIS Roundtable 2017
Theme: Creating Shared Values Through Risk Sharing
The theme conferred on how Islamic finance could create more risk-sharing avenues as well as incorporate the sustainable development agenda. The intended outcome is a reduced reliance on interest rate-based debt financing, expansion of social inclusion, as well as a stable and fair society.
9th SC-OCIS Roundtable 2018
Theme: Enhancing the Value of Islamic Capital Market Through Social and Impact Investment
The theme discoursed on how Islamic capital markets can take a greater role in promoting impact investing that would ultimately provide greater reach towards beneficiaries. Ultimately, by tapping or unlocking private capital to pursue development opportunities, we would be able to accelerate the objectives of achieving the relevant Social Development Goals.
A collaborative initiative between the Securities Commission Malaysia and the World Bank Global Research and Knowledge Hub in Malaysia to provide a platform for sharing of experiences and knowledge on topical theme of Islamic Capital Market, as well as new areas for moving forward. In 2018 and 2019, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Asia Pacific Hub came onboard as a co-organiser.
2017 Theme: Islamic Finance and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for Infrastructure Development
The Conference and Roundtable focussed on how to best deploy Islamic finance in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) delivery frameworks and has identified the relevant policy, legal, regulatory and institutional interventions necessary to motivate both public and private sectors to use Islamic financing for infrastructure development.
2018 Theme: Harnessing Islamic Finance for a Green Future
The Conference deliberated on global trends, issues and opportunities in Islamic finance ecosystem to support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, including the use of innovative Islamic finance instruments for climate friendly projects.
The 2019 Conference themed “Islamic Finance: A Catalyst For Financial Inclusion” discussed and deliberated on the use of Islamic finance to support financial inclusion, including the use of Islamic social finance instruments and Islamic FinTech to eradicate poverty and promote shared prosperity. Additionally, the Conference also explored policy, regulatory and institutional elements required for the sustainable use of Islamic finance to address financial inclusion.
The Scholar-in-Residence Programme (Visiting Fellowship) is a capacity building initiative between the Securities Commission Malaysia with Oxford Centre for Islamic Finance (OCIS) to promote and develop research on contemporary issues in Islamic finance.
Visiting Fellow 2012/2013: Dr Amir Shahabudin
Research Topic: Harmonizing Shariah Rulings in Islamic Finance: Issues, Ways and Challenges
Focussing on the issue of bay’ al-dayn as a case study, the research discusses how harmonization can be pursued for the betterment of the industry. The research will explain on the suggestions made by leading shari’ah scholars and industry practitioners on ways of accomplishing harmonization objectives. Additionally, the research will also touch on the challenges that might be faced in the course of harmonizing the shari’ah rulings.
Visiting Fellow 2013/2014: Dr Valentino Catalan
Research Topic: Performing God’s Will in Market Economy: Islamic Contract Law, Fiqh and the Law of Islamic Finance
The research paper aims to study Islamic understanding of the role of the freedom of contract in market economy, by locating this topic in the intersection between the logic of fiqh and the contemporary law of Islamic finance. In addition to that, this research shows the consequence of policy-making inputs to the debate over Islamic finance regulation. In particular, a double-level regulatory framework will be suggested to merge the legal and moral dimensions of fiqh when dealing with contractual freedom, looking at the waqf as a valuable tool to realise this reconciliation in the marketplace.
Visiting Fellow 2014/2015: Dr Adam Ng
Research Topic: Risk Sharing and Social Impact Partnerships
This research articulates a business model that brings social capital and risk sharing into renewed focus to create the demonstration effect which could bring about a global impact. The paper also provides a novel discussion of various Islamic financial structures such as risk-sharing sukuk, social impact bonds and waqf to facilitate greater access to markets and induce more equitable and sustainable economic growth.
Research Topic: Developing the Corporate Bond and Sukuk Market in Malaysia: Broadening the Credit Profile
In Malaysia, the corporate bond and sukuk market has emerged as an increasingly important funding source but it remains heavily skewed towards the upper end of the credit curve with significant implications for how businesses can access finance. Corporates have access to relatively cheap and abundant funding from a variety of sources, whereas the majority of businesses do not have access to the market. This paper provides recommendations for enhancing the credit profile of the market in Malaysia. These aim at widening the investor base and reducing market access costs for borrowers.
Visiting Fellow 2016/2017: Dr Salman Syed Ali
Research Topic: Promoting Equity-based Islamic Finance: Micro Considerations Risk, Control and Choice of Islamic Financial Contracts.
This paper focusses on the role of demand and analyses how the risk, return and ownership concerns of the seekers of fund affect their choice among Islamic financial contracts of murabaha and partnership. Some hybrid financial contracts are suggested to address the ownership preference of the entrepreneurs
Visiting Fellow 2017/2018: Dr Siti Raihana Hamzah
Research Topic: Empirical Analysis of Risk Shifting and Risk Sharing in Bonds and Sukuk.
The proposed research is based on the preliminary qualitative analysis of risk shifting and risk sharing in bonds and sukuk. This paper aims to extend the analysis empirically on countries that are actively engaged in Bonds and Sukuk market
Visiting Fellow 2018/2019:
Dr Siew Peng Lee
Dr Hashim Jusoh
Research Topic: The Integration ESG screens to Shariah-compliant companies for sustainable development
Research Topic: Research Topic: An Exploratory Study on the Adoption of a Shari’ah-compliant Stock Index Futures in the Malaysian capital market.
Islamic finance is a substantial segment within the global financial market; However, the research evidence of ESG practice in Islamic finance is limited. This study aims to fill the gap in this context by addressing the ESG practices in Shariah-compliant companies listed in FTSE Bursa Malaysia EMAS index and those listed in the MSCI US Islamic index.
The research paper seeks to provide a comparison on risk analysis and performance of Islamic variant of spot index vis-a-vis conventional spot index and stock index futures in Malaysia. Furthermore, this study also explores the possibility of introducing a Shari’ah-compliant stock index future in the Malaysian capital market.
Current Visiting Fellow 2019/2020: Mr Tarik Akin
Research Topic: Is Risk-Sharing Asset-Based Redistribution a Viable Solution to tackle Wealth Inequality?
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) was established on 1 March 1993 under the Securities Commission Act 1993 (SCA). We are a self-funded statutory body entrusted with the responsibility to regulate and develop the Malaysian capital market.
