The Malaysian Islamic financial system is now becoming increasingly integrated with the international financial system. It is a vibrant market, with a total of RM 11.6 billion worth of Sukuk approved during the first quarter of 2006. Currently, there is RM 91.6 billion Sukuk outstanding as at 31 March 2006 accounting for 44 percent of the Malaysian bond market. The average monthly turnover of the Islamic money market for 2006 is RM 30 billion. In the equities market, 85 percent of listed securities are Shariah compliant. Malaysia has a diversity of international players, including several new foreign entrants from the Middle-East. As new products are introduced, the Malaysian Islamic financial system offers opportunities for fund raising and risk diversification for issuers and investors.

This forum will discuss the vast opportunities in Islamic finance and the practical issues confronting issuers and investors. Discussions at the forum will cover financial and capital market developments in the burgeoning Islamic financial services sector of Malaysia. Local and international experts from the Middle East, Europe and Asia will share their perspectives and experiences on how investors and issuers can capitalize on the comprehensive range of Islamic financial products and services, as well as robust legal and regulatory infrastructure offered by Malaysia, to pursue global business opportunities based on Shariah compliant financing.

The forum will be an appropriate platform to reinforce that the availability of a comprehensive range of Islamic financial products and services is a key pre-requisite to effective financial risk management and for providing choice to the international consumer of financial services.

Details on the conference are available at www.malaysianislamicfinance.com. The event is organized by Islamic Finance events a member of the REDmoney group.